DCSA Annual Report 2024

Summary

The DCSA Annual Report 2024 is far more than an overview of the illicit drug trafficking in Italy, collecting data of 2023 (compared to those of previous years) provided by the Italian and foreign Police Forces, by the main international Agencies on drug trafficking, as well as by open sources (specialised websites, press, etc.).

The Report analyses the main drugs, providing a summary of the Italian law enforcement activities against drug trafficking at national level.

The main Italian law enforcement operations confirmed the transnational nature of the drug trafficking, showing that drug traffickers are using new modi operandi and seeking alternative routes to dispatch large loads from one continent to another.

It has also been noted that the damages caused by drug trafficking and the resulting illicit economies contribute to worsen social instability and environmental devastation. In the first case, all sources, including the international ones, point out an increase in the rate of violence related to drug use and trafficking. Gang fights for controlling markets jeopardise the public security of those countries of production and/or transit with a weaker balance of free social co-existence. Likewise, the increasing use of drugs at different social levels, particularly the synthetic ones which have more powerful psychoactive effects and whose market is growing in terms of ease of access and offer in less visible way, not only affects human health, but also increase the odds of aggressive and violent behaviour. In the second case, the ever- growing cultivation of natural drugs destroys the environment: land use and deforestation lead to an increasing water pollution, threatening biodiversity and thus the health of the planet.