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Law Enforcement

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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Cocaine in Canada: From Colombia to A First Nations Community

Amid the ongoing fentanyl crisis, the global cocaine trade is surging, flooding even the most remote parts of Canada with high-purity cocaine. In this CBC investigation, follow the drug’s journey from a ship off Colombia’s coast to the Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation in Labrador.

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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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Portugal’s War on Drugs (2021)

Over twenty years ago, Portugal decriminalized drug use in 2001. This country went from being known as 'the heroin capital of Europe' to a global leader in the war on drugs. SBS Dateline travels to in Lisbon to find out what Australia can learn from Portugal's radical approach.

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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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Through a Blue Lens: Vancouver Police & Their Relationship With Addicts

This 1999 documentary presented by The National Film Board of Canada follows a group of police officers who work in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and their unique relationship with the drug addicts living on the streets. The officers themselves document the lives of several addicts who have agreed to participate in this initiative to show the realities of drug use to youth.

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Poison Pill: San Diego’s Battle Against Fentanyl

NBC 7 undertook an in-depth investigation to move beyond the headlines and statistics, aiming to uncover how the fentanyl crisis emerged in San Diego County, the impact it continues to have on local communities, and the critical work still needed to address what has been labeled an epidemic.

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