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Updated: Dec 12, 2025
07:48
Tracking Drug-induced Changes in Receptor Post-internalization Trafficking by Colocalizational Analysis
Published on: July 3, 2015
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Structural and functional changes in an Australian high-level drug trafficking network after exposure to supply
Matthew John Alwyn O'Reilly1, Caitlin Elizabeth Hughes2, David Anthony Bright3
1National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
The International Journal on Drug Policy
|August 9, 2020
Summary
Drug trafficking networks show complex adaptation to supply changes, including shifts in manufacturing and recruitment of officials. These resilient networks continue operations despite law enforcement interventions and market fluctuations.
Area of Science:
- Criminology
- Sociology
- Network Analysis
Background:
- Illicit drug markets and supply dynamics are well-researched.
- Limited understanding exists on how drug trafficking networks adapt to supply changes and the resulting consequences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the adaptive strategies and consequences of supply changes within a drug trafficking network.
- To analyze the structural and functional adaptations of a methamphetamine trafficking network over 15 years.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal social network analysis of a high-level drug trafficking network (1993-2007).
- Data sourced from judicial records, biographies, and media reports.
- Analysis of network changes across five time periods, categorizing supply changes as law-enforcement-caused or not.
Main Results:
- Identified 32 supply changes, with 59% law-enforcement-induced.
- Observed shifts from international trafficking to domestic manufacture and vice versa.
- Documented network adaptations including decentralization, changes in density and roles, and recruitment of corrupt officials.
Conclusions:
- The illicit drug trade exhibits complex adaptive behavior and resilience to market changes.
- Supply disruptions trigger structural and functional network adaptations, some leading to negative outcomes like increased domestic methamphetamine production and corruption.
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