International crime rackets earning USD 870 bn every year

These "immense illicit funds" are worth more than six times the amount of official development assistance, and are comparable to 1.5 per cent of global GDP or 7 per cent of the world's exports of merchandise, the UNODC said.

According to UNODC, drug traffic is the "most lucrative" form of business for criminals fetching USD 32,000 crore a year.

"Human trafficking brings in about USD 3,200 billion annually, while some estimates place the global value of smuggling of migrants at USD 700 crore per year.

"The environment is also exploited: trafficking in timber generates revenues of USD 350 crore a year in South-East Asia alone, while elephant ivory, rhino horn and tiger parts from Africa and Asia produces USD 7.50 crore annually in criminal turnover," a statement said.

At USD 25,000 crore a year, it said, counterfeiting is also a very high earner for organised crime groups.

The UNODC said the human cost associated with transnational organised crime is also a major concern, with countless lives being lost each year.

Millions of victims are affected each year as a result of the activities of organised crime groups with human trafficking victims alone numbering 24 lakh at any one time, it said.

"Transnational organised crime reaches into every region, and every country across the world. Stopping this transnational threat represents one of the international community