A new perspective on the criminal ecosystem in Southeast Asia

Transnational organized crime in Southeast Asia has entered a new phase. While criminal markets used to operate in isolation, they have now converged into a single, resilient, and globally connected ecosystem. Criminals often rely on similar services to diversify their target reach, the software they use and the way they launder their proceeds.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific invites you to the launch of its landmark report: "An Interconnected Criminal Ecosystem: Transnational Organized Crime Threat Assessment for Southeast Asia 2026”.

Moving beyond the 2019 edition's market-by-market analysis, this UNODC Transnational Organized Crime Threat Assessment adopts an integrated approach to examine how organized crime now functions as a single, technology-enabled ecosystem. Alongside well-documented chapters on scam operations and drug trafficking, this new edition breaks ground on emerging criminal markets —including illegal online gambling, online child sexual exploitation, tobacco crime, and firearms trafficking— and presents a comprehensive estimate of scam operations in the region, along with their impact on the region's economy and people.

The scale of what has emerged, and the speed at which it has grown, demands a fundamental reassessment of how the international community understands and responds to organized crime.

Join UNODC for a comprehensive briefing on the findings, in person at the club or online via Facebook livestream, on Tuesday 21 July 2026 at 10 am.

Opened by Delphine Schantz, UNODC regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, the session will be moderated by head of communications Laura Gil, and include a briefing by lead analyst Inshik Sim, followed by time for questions.