There were between 30 to 50 kidnappings each day in Mexico in 2008.
Author: havocscope_i6dz4u
Insurance payments in 2006
In 2006, kidnap and ransom insurance policies paid out $200 million in ransom payments.
Gray area of international adoptions
The difference between the illicit trade in infants and legitimate intercountry adoptions is at times difficult to monitor. As Ethan Kapstein writes in Foreign Affairs, “the difference may be clear conceptually, but it is not always clear in reality.”
“Buying infants is illegal covering the cost of raising then until they are adopted is not,” Kapstein writes. ” The distinction between the two can be so obscure, however, that unless parents actually confess to selling their children, adoption and immigration authorities may struggle to prove it.”
Purchasing children in Romania
According to reports, Children from Romania were being bought for use in international adoptions for $20,000 to $30,000.
Internatioanl adoptions from the developing world
An estimated 9.5 million children in the developing world live in orphanages and are available for international adoptions.
International Adoptions in Switzerland
In Switzerland, out of the nearly 600 children adopted from abroad, 30 to 90 percent are handled outside of official channels.
Losses to US Companies From Depressed Timber Prices
Companies in the United States lose at least $460 million each year as world prices are depressed between 7 -16 percent by the availability of illegal logging products.
Illegal Timber Smuggled into China From Myanmar in 2006
1.5 million tonnes of timber worth $350 million was smuggled into China from Myanmar’s teak forests in 2006 from illegal logging activities.
Illegally Caught Caviar sold 10 times Initial Price
In the Caspian Sea, a kilogram of caviar sells for $300 to $500 on the black market. It is then sold in Europe and the United States at a price worth 10 times as much.
Underreporting Sturgeon Catches
An estimated 10 times more sturgeon is caught illegally than under officially regulated fishing.