Organised crime worth $111bn a year in East Asia

Organised crime groups dealing in fake goods, drugs, human trafficking and illicit wildlife trade earn nearly US$90 billion (S$111 billion) annually in East Asia and the Pacific, a UN report showed on Tuesday. "Transnational Organised Crime in East Asia and the Pacific: A Threat Assessment" is the most comprehensive study of the subject, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said. It estimates that the top money-makers for crime groups are the trade in counterfeit goods (US$24.4 billion), illegal wood products (US$17 billion), heroin (US$16.3 billion) and methamphetamines (US$15 billion). Fake medicines (US$5 billion), the black market trade in used electronics components to avoid legitimate recycling (US$3.75 billion) and the illegal wildlife trade (US$2.5 billion) also rank highly.