ABSTRACT

Disrupting drug operations requires a measured approach to identifying critical actors playing instrumental roles in support of illicit drug market activity. We use a quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) nodal regression routine to explore the explanatory relevance of human capital in accounting for an actor’s structural position within two methamphetamine trafficking communities—one originating from land-based smuggling and the other involving sea-based smuggling. We operationalise human capital with three dichotomous variables (occupying leadership roles, being involved in money laundering, or facilitating international smuggling) and capture positional importance with normalised degree and betweenness centrality scores. The results support arguments in favour of integrating centrality metrics with nodal attributes to improve targeted efforts to disrupt market activity. Additionally, network mapping must be sensitive to the local conditions surrounding specific types of drug trafficking operations—the structure of land-based and sea-based drug distribution chains supplying methamphetamine to Indonesian markets differ substantively. Limitations are discussed.

摘要

破坏毒品行动需要采取一种有步骤的方法，以查明在支持非法毒品市场活动中发挥重要作用的关键行为者。我们使用二次分配程序（QAP）节点回归例程来探讨人力资本在解释一个行动者在两个甲基苯丙胺贩运社区中的结构地位时的解释意义，其中一个来自陆路走私，而另一个涉及海基走私。我们通过三个二元变量（占据领导角色，参与洗钱或便利国际走私）来运营人力资本，并通过标准化程度和中间度中心得分来把握位置重要性。结果支持支持将中心度指标与节点属性相集成以改进针对性地破坏市场活动的努力的论点。此外，网络制图必须对围绕特定类型的毒品贩运活动的当地条件敏感—向印度尼西亚市场供应甲基苯丙胺的陆基和海基药物分销链的结构存在很大差异。局限性进行了讨论。