Azerbaijan in Smuggling Chain Dr. Farhad MEHDIYEV and Azer ALLAKHVERANOV, Ph.D Abstract. Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia are located between Asia and Europe; taking into account that Europe is a big market for various stuff and needs, South Caucasus keeps a role of transit way from Asia to Europe and in opposite direction as well. This report is on illicit smuggling of drugs, weapon and human trafficking. The geographic and political conditions of Azerbaijan also current international events as well make the territory of Azerbaijan suitable for drug and human trafficking. In drug trafficking Azerbaijan is mostly a transit country, though cannabis and poppy is cultivated in Azerbaijan and smuggled into the CIS countries, especially Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia. In human trafficking Azerbaijan is as much a transit route as a source. Balkan war played essential role in making South Caucasus transit route for smuggling in Europe. Countries on transit route have a high level of unemployment and corruption: these 2 factors boost illicit trafficking. Azerbaijani government fights against illicit trafficking and smuggling not only because it cares about one’s image and confidence. The reason is that illicit trafficking creates serious dangers as to social life as to political, demographic and market situation as well. It threats also international relations and increases international criminal groups, which in time create links with public officials and become very resistive to defeat. Keywords. Smuggling. drug trade, human trafficking, Azerbaijan. INTRODUCTION Like most of the Post Soviet countries, the collapse of USSR pushed the commencement and growth of the organized crime in Azerbaijan Republic as well, which is the real threat against the security system of these Post Soviet countries and the freedoms and human rights of their citizens. Existence of transparent borders among these Post Soviet countries, free movement and mass exodus cases, military conflicts as well as economical crisis, appearance of uncontrolled areas which enables the organized crime groups to find suitable residents resulted in the large-scaled growth of organized crime. Regrettably, these negative cases do not turn away from the Azerbaijan Republic too. Trafficking in human beings, arms and drugs being under the control of crime groups engaging in criminal activity within the country with patronage of transnational criminal syndicates, exists in essence as a form of latent. This factor debases a quality of the combating with these negative cases. For example, only 10% of narcotics are seized from illegal turnover, the rest are realized in black markets. Widespread corruption and the various armed conflicts that have plagued the South Caucasus since the late 1980s both contribute to making the region a haven for illicit 1