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TRACIT's areas of work

Criminal networks operate across sectors, jurisdictions, and supply chain nodes, exploiting systemic weaknesses wherever oversight fragments and accountability weakens.

TRACIT organizes its work around four interconnected focus areas: Sectors, Countries & Regions, Supply Chain, and Societal Costs. Together, these lenses provide a structured way to identify vulnerabilities, understand how illicit trade scales, and develop coordinated policy responses.

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Categories

Sectors

Illicit trade affects a number of industries. Criminal networks exploit regulatory inconsistencies, uneven enforcement, and market asymmetries to operate across multiple product categories. When controls strengthen in one sector, traffickers shift to another.​

Explore TRACIT's work on sectors here.

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Countries and Regions

Illicit trade affects countries differently. Strategic location and governance capacity shape exposure and enforcement gaps. Because vulnerabilities vary, responses must be country and region-specific. TRACIT works with national authorities and local partners to develop targeted, context-appropriate solutions.

Explore TRACIT's country-specific and regional work here.

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Supply Chain

Modern supply chains are complex, with goods passing through numerous intermediaries, countries, and transport systems. Oversight is uneven across these stages, and accountability is often diffuse. Criminal networks exploit these inconsistencies to conceal origin, divert goods, and scale illicit operations.
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Explore TRACIT's work related to supply chains here.

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Societal Costs

Illicit trade imposes costs far beyond lost revenue. It exposes workers to exploitation, fuels corruption, weakens public services, and undermines progress toward sustainable development. TRACIT documents the societal costs of illicit trade and pushes governments to address illicit trade as a broader societal challenge.
 

Explore TRACIT's work related to societal costs here.