Week 6 EOC: Illicit Trade

Illicit trade is an economic boost to any society and yet while some may see this as a “good thing”, it is nothing but destructive and harmful as the implications are far more reaching than the average person realizes. In the illegal trade business there are people devoid of moral integrity, ethical intent, and legal responsibilities, in order to gain millions and millions in financial gains. This money is untaxed therefore all money made from the illegal trade is pure profit.

It is far more prevalent than most suspect. There is illegal trade everything from people to prescription drugs. What most people don’t realize is this also is a major funding of deplorable international criminal acts like human trafficking, illegal weapons trade, and the drug trade. If criminals are willing to manufacture and move such “harmless” (to the everyday consumer) such as dvds or handbags then what else are they willing to produce and do that are far more sinister?

There needs to be much more education on what illegal trading is and what the implications are. Westerners go to China and, because of the thrill, buy counterfeit goods at a steep discount. It is likely that there is no education about what their money is actually going to support. Women, children, and men will be sold and illegally trafficked using the money from that sale. Drugs will be shipped to affluent countries and sold to young children using the money from that sale. Buying counterfeit goods is not a harmless crime. I remember seeing some advertisements warning against the purchase of counterfeit goods. It has all but disappeared now. Public awareness needs to be raised to educate the consumers of what the money from these illegal acts are really doing. Apathy against relatively low harm acts as purchasing a “knockoff” is what makes deplorable illegal trade possible. It is a chain of crime that is everywhere yet people turn a blind eye to or willingly participate in for their own selfish vanity.