The development of international heroin trade: from Turkey to Marseille and beyond

Over the decades, global drug trafficking has repeatedly produced new routes and structures that adapt to political and economic changes. Especially in the field of heroin trade, there were phases in which certain transit routes, production centers and criminal networks held dominance. One of these important phases was the decadesRule of the route Turkey-Italy-USA, which significantly shaped the international heroin trade. But in the course of the 1950s, there were significant upheavals and reorganizations that led trade to a new phase. This article sheds light on the most important developments, the background and the actors who have had a significant influence on the international heroin market at that time.

The old Heroin Route: Turkey-Italy-USA as the dominant transport route

For more than twenty years, the route that directed heroin transport from Turkey to Italy to the United States was the central axis of international drug trafficking. This route was characterized by a complex network of smugglers, criminal organizations and international contacts that allowed large amounts of heroin to be efficiently and relatively undisturbed in the USAto bring. Turkey acted mainly as a starting point from where heroin was smuggled into Italy through the Mediterranean. From there it was exported to the United States, making trade one of the most lucrative and dangerous business areas of the time. This system was stable for years because it was established on proven ways,smuggler networks and close cooperation between criminal organizations. The police and the international authorities kept trying to interrupt these routes, but the network was too well anchored and permeable. Control of marine and airports and organized crime cooperation made it almost impossible to permanentlyto smash.

The turning point: The departure of the Sicilian mafia and the relocation to Marseille

In the early 1950s, however, there was a decisive change in the structure of heroin trade. The Sicilian mafia, who for a long time played a key role in heroin production and smuggling, completely stopped producing the drug. Instead, the Mafia circles began to engage in their activities on the Corsican area and the criminal networks thererelocate. There were several reasons for this departure. A key reason was that the legal heroin production by the drug company Schiaparelli was severely restricted in the years 1950 and 1951. This production has been the main legal source of heroin to date, and its attitude forced organizations to look for new sources of supply. Luciano, one of the leadingFigures in organized crime, was faced with the choice of setting up their own laboratories or opening up alternative delivery methods. It was shown that while the Sicilian mafiosi were extremely experienced in smuggling, they lacked the technical skills and resources to operate their own heroin laboratories. The situation was exacerbated by a series of arrests in Italy in theIn the course of investigations into heroin production and smuggling were carried out. Many courier drivers and laboratory staff were arrested by the police, which significantly disturbed the supply chain. The incompetence and the insufficient organization of the mafiosi led to the police confiscating large amounts of heroin again and again. These seizures had dramaticEpisodes: If they were continued, the organizations threatened to arrest their key players, including Luciano, and the Given these risks, Luciano decided to move his main source of supply to Marseille. The French port city became the new hub of heroin trade because the Corsican syndicates there through their support in CIA operations on politicalgained power and control over the port. Marseilles thus quickly developed into the most important heroin metropolis of Europe, which supplied the continent with large quantities of the drug and increasingly suppressed the weight of the Italian production and smuggling networks.

The role of Meyer Lansky and the financial flows of organized crime

During the 1949/50s, Meyer Lansky, one of the best-known organized criminals of the time, played a crucial role in the reorganization of the international heroin and drug business. His trip to Europe during the years was probably largely responsible for the rise of the heroin industry in Marseille. After crossing the Atlantic on a luxury shipVisited Lansky in Rome the infamous Luciano to discuss the intentions and strategies of international drug trafficking. From there he traveled on to Zurich, where he contacted leading Swiss bankers through his old friend John Pullman. These negotiations formed the basis for a complex financial network that enabled organized crime to create enormousTransferring profits from the US heroin and gambling activities to Swiss accounts without the US tax authorities becoming aware of the Pullman was responsible for the European side of money transfers: He managed deposits, transfers and investments as soon as the funds were received in Switzerland. Initially, conventional Swiss banks were trusted, butFinally, Lansky and his allies took over the “Exchange and Investment Bank of Geneva” to make transactions even more discrete and efficient. Lansky and his organization used two methods to transfer funds: On the one hand, so-called “friendly banks” were used, which veiled the identity of their customers and transfers to theallowed Switzerland. For larger amounts where the risk was too high, the money was collected until a Swiss bank employee took the money in his luggage on a business trip to the USA and paid back in Switzerland. After the financial arrangements were clarified, Lansky traveled through France to join high-ranking Corsican syndicates at theRiviera and in Paris. After long negotiations, a kind of agreement was said to have been concluded that regulated international heroin trade between the criminal networks.

The discovery of the heroin laboratories in Marseille

Shortly after Lansky returned to the USA, there were piling up evidence of the existence of secret heroin laboratories in Marseille. On May 23, 1951, the French police uncovered the first of these laboratories. Only a few months later, on March 18, 1952, they were able to dug another laboratory. French investigators reported that these illegal production sites were presumably since 1951were in operation and were directly due to restricted deliveries from Italy, which had declined sharply in recent years due to police measures. In the course of the next five months, the French authorities were able to uncover two other secret laboratories. Later, US drug experts estimated that a large part of heroin deliveries to the United StatesMarseille was made. These findings underline the central role that Marseille played in international heroin production and smuggling in the 1950s. The organizations had expanded their production on French soil to secure the supply chains and bypass the Italian mafia’s influence.

The Marseille Heroin Production Age

The transition from the original Turkey-Italian-USA route to a Marseille-centered heroin industry marked a significant turnaround in international drug trafficking. The criminal networks cleverly used the geopolitical changes, political interdependencies and the technical possibilities to expand their business. Marseille became the most important center of theHeroin production in Europe and played a crucial role in supplying American markets. The entanglements between organized criminal, political actors and international financial flows made controlling this illegal business extremely difficult, which explains the challenge for the authorities to this day.