Special Issue: Applications of Operations Research and Data Science in Disrupting Illicit Markets

Abstract

We live in an interconnected world; what happens in one place on our planet can impact us all. Over the past 30 years, globalization has created many opportunities and great wealth. But some of the biggest winners have been criminal groups. Organized criminal groups have taken advantage of opening new markets, supply chains, and technologies while exploiting weak regulation in financial markets and cyberspace. This has generated enormous wealth for the corrupt and criminals. A global problem like organized crime through illicit markets needs a multilateral solution. However, despite this convention, illicit activities have changed beyond recognition, growing exponentially worldwide in the past two decades. The global illicit activity boom has also become a threat to peace, development, the environment, health, and justice worldwide.