Drug cartels deforesting swathes of the Amazon

‘Narco-deforestation’, also involves gangs which make money from illegal logging investing their money in coca cultivation. Picture: iStock

Drug cartels supplying cocaine to users in Ireland and the rest of Europe are now investing their profits in land acquired through the illegal destruction of the Amazon forest, the United Nations has said.

The phenomenon, called ‘narco-deforestation’, also sees the flow of criminal proceeds in the other direction, with gangs who are making money from illegal logging investing their money in coca cultivation.