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Crime

A collection of resources discussing crime in relation to addiction, mental health, and/or social justice and civil rights.

Cocaine & Fentanyl: Destroying Lives (Addicted: The Narco Plague)

CNA traverses the front lines of various countries to investigate the world of illicit substances in Addicted. This three-part documentary series offers a rare, unfiltered look at the global production, trafficking and consumption of traditional and synthetic drugs.

In this second episode, Destructive Cocaine and Fentanyl: Unraveling the Harrowing Impact on Lives, their investigation begins in Colombia’s Catatumbo region, where violent cartels fight for control of cocaine routes, displacing over 50,000 farmers. Next, in Belgium’s Antwerp Port — known for being the cocaine capital of Europe — they examine the difficulities that law enforcement face in reducing the flow of cocaine trafficking. They then travel to Sweden and the Netherlands, where gangs recruit children for brutal gang wars, shattering communities and ruining lives. Lastly, ending in Philadelphia, USA, the documentary looks at how open-air drug markets and synthetic opioids like fentanyl are driving a growing public health crisis.

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Crystal Meth: A Global Pandemic (Addicted: The Synthetic Curse)

CNA traverses the front lines of various countries to investigate the world of illicit substances in Addicted. This three-part documentary series offers a rare, unfiltered look at the global production, trafficking and consumption of traditional and synthetic drugs. In this first episode, Curse Of Crystal Meth: Addiction, Trafficking & Dangerous Production Exposed, they explore the far-reaching impact of this synthetic curse. From Pakistan, to Thailand, to Canada, to Australia: methamphetamine, or ice, is ruining communities.

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Thailand’s Systematic Killing of Drug Addicts (2003)

In 2003, the Prime Minister of Thailand announced a war on drugs, which led to the murder of thousands of drug addicts. The government put pressure on local police to reach a 'quota', where names on blacklists were targets. The government and police claimed that it was the drug dealers killing local addicts, but others were skeptical, believing that it was, in fact, the authorities conducting a massive sweep of a local drug called Yaba (a type of methamphetamine) by killing drug addicts.

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Cocaine for Germany: Drug Dealing & Smuggling

The film traces the path of cocaine from its cultivation in South America, through smuggling routes that pass via Africa and Spain, to its distribution among dealers and users in Berlin. It examines how the drug trade operates, the actions being taken by authorities in response to its rapid growth, and the individuals and networks profiting from it.

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The Netherlands – Mocro Mafia & Drug Trafficking

Organized crime in the Netherlands has surged alongside the booming cocaine trade, with the so-called "Mocro Mafia" at the center of this crisis. Once believed to be under control, this network has demonstrated its power through increasingly violent tactics, including the assassinations of a key witness, his lawyer, and journalist Peter R. de Vries. The drug mafia’s grip extends deep into society, enabled by billions in profits and the ability to bribe port workers and other insiders.

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Really Breaking Bad: 560kg Meth Bust (To Catch a Smuggler)

This episode of To Catch a Smuggler (which appears to be a compilation of other episodes) focuses on drug trafficking seizures performed by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), namely that of MDMA / ecstasy and methamphetamine. While giving insight into their careers and briefly explaining how drug trafficking works, they find 560 kilograms of liquid meth in paint buckets loaded into a truck and a large quantity of MDMA in parcels.

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Scopolamine – The World’s Scariest Drug

VICE travels to Bogota, Colombia to find out more about a very strange and powerful drug called Burundanga, also referred to as "The Devil's Breath." They speak with a few people that have firsthand experience with the drug and, according to VICE, "the story took a far darker turn" than they imagined.

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From Pleasure to Pain: Inside MDMA Drug Labs

This 2019 investigation from The Feed traces the production and consumption of MDMA - from the cook to the consumer. Australians love party drugs, especially MDMA, and they are the biggest consumer of ecstasy in the world. Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about festival deaths, pill testing, and the government’s tough stance on drugs. But what doesn’t get mentioned as much is where all this MDMA is actually coming from - and who’s behind it. That’s what The Feed is setting out to discover as they travel from Australia to the Netherlands.

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Addiction & Homeless Crisis – Seattle is Dying

This documentary explores the intertwined crises of addiction and homelessness in Seattle. It tells the story of a deep, simmering frustration that is escalating into anger and outrage. It highlights the experiences of people who have felt compassion, but no longer feel safe, heard, or protected. It’s about lost individuals roaming the streets, disconnected from home, family, or reality, chasing a drug that in turn relentlessly pursues them. The film examines not only the harm they inflict upon themselves, but also the toll it takes on the very fabric of the community. It speaks of a once-beautiful city now damaged, and a crisis of faith among Seattleites who are losing their connection to the place they once loved. But there’s another side to this story—a potential solution, a glimmer of hope in a city that seems to have run out of ideas. The question remains: what if Seattle is dying, and we don’t even realize it?

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