Drug Market and Criminality at the Time of COVID-19
senger vehicles to pass through , or only allow cross-border workers . Therefore , a whole logistics chain is disrupted by the closing of borders and will have to be reorganized if imports want to continue .
Several possibilities are open to traffickers . They either rely on road transport of goods that are still allowed to cross the Spanish border or use container ships from Morocco . A Tangiers-Marseille line has been operating since 2017 that could be activated by traffickers on both sides of the Mediterranean . However , recent cases suggest that criminal organizations prefer the first solution , as shown by the seizure last March of a truck supplying a large chain of stores . 11
The Shortage is Taking Hold
The shortage is therefore beginning to take hold . While many outlets continue to operate , observers agree that it is in slow motion : “ Even in some very active cities ( Vénissieux , Lyon West and Centre ), the number of visitors to the outlets has fallen by more than half . In some cases monitored in Paris , the level of orders has collapsed by 90 % compared to the period before the confinement .” 12
While it is difficult , by definition , to assess stocks , the fact that criminal organizations , like modern industry , tend to operate on a just-in-time basis and zero stock 13 suggests that reserves will decline rapidly . It should be noted in passing that cannabis herb , the consumption of which has risen sharply in recent years in France , 14 is not a real alternative to the shortage of cannabis resin .
Massively imported from Spain , in 2018 , nearly 90 percent of the seizures made in France by the police came from this country , 15 and from the Netherlands ; thus , the closure of borders hinders its movement . While local production has increased in France in recent years , it is not sufficient to meet the needs of the domestic market . However , there are cases where certain organizations invested in the distribution of cannabis have developed their own local production structures to supply points of sale , which will soften the shock . 16
The Cocaine Market Under Stress With nearly 600,000 consumers in 2017 , the French cocaine market is , in terms of
11 OFAST 2020 12 OFAST
15 OCRTIS 2019 .
17