Money laundering plays a key role in every part of the illegal drugs industry—here's how it works

The global illicit drugs trade is estimated to be worth at least half a trillion US dollars each year. Drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin generate large revenues all along their supply chains, from where the products (and precursor materials) are grown or made—principally Colombia and Bolivia, China, Afghanistan, and the "golden triangle" of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand—to wherever the finished drugs are consumed.