Customs officer examines part of 160kg haul of heroin
The UN estimates the annual value of the illegal drugs trade to be US$400bn.
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Miami drugs crackdown
South Florida is a major hub for international trade - 40% of the United States trade with international Central America, 35% of the nations trade with the Caribbean and 17% of its trade with South America comes in through here.
The extensive shoreline of the Florida peninsula and the Florida Keys has always attracted smugglers.
In cases of drug smuggling, international co-operation between law enforcement agencies is critical. To follow crimes across borders, treaties have been signed between the US and all neighbouring countries, with the exception of Cuba.
Nowadays the entrance to the Miami River is lined with boats - many of them huge, old, rusty freighters that have been pulled in by US Customs to search for concealed drugs.
Making a thorough search of a 30 metre freighter can take weeks and is rarely done randomly. Most of the boats that are pulled over in the Miami River have come from Haiti or Honduras, which is the primary route for trafficking drugs in to Florida.
The searches are focussed and are often aided by detailed information gleaned from undercover informants who pass intelligence to US Customs about boats and their drugs haul.
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