Heavy maritime traffic between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines is providing opportunities for transnational organised crime groups to conceal illicit cargo among legitimate commercial shipments, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has warned.
The agency said criminals are increasingly exploiting legitimate trade routes and emerging technologies as part of a wider criminal ecosystem linking cyber-enabled fraud, human trafficking, drug trafficking, money laundering and other illicit activities.
In a post on X on Monday, UNODC highlighted the use of low-Earth-orbit satellite equipment as an example of technology that can be moved through legitimate trade channels and later used to support online scam operations.
“Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines: Heavy maritime traffic allows organized crime to hide illicit cargo among legitimate trade, like low-Earth-orbit satellite equipment used to support scam operations. Stronger maritime law enforcement is essential,” UNODC said.
The warning comes as UNODC's 2026 An Interconnected Criminal Ecosystem: Transnational Organized Crime Threat Assessment for South-East Asia examines how criminal networks are becoming increasingly interconnected and technologically sophisticated.
The assessment shows that organised crime in South-East Asia is no longer confined to traditional trafficking markets. Criminal groups are increasingly providing services and infrastructure for cyber-enabled fraud, illicit financial transactions, human trafficking and other forms of crime.
The scale of the online scam economy illustrates the rapid expansion of the threat. UNODC estimates that victims across East Asia, South-East Asia, Australia and New Zealand lost between Sh11.3907 trillion and 14.7189 trillion to scams in 2025.
The estimated losses were substantially higher than the Sh2.322 trillion to Sh 4.773 trillion recorded in 2023, highlighting the rapid growth of the criminal industry.
UNODC's assessment also points to the growing international reach of scam operations.
People from at least 80 countries and territories have been identified in scam compounds across the region, with recruitment networks extending through Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
The expansion has also created a major human trafficking problem.
Between 2022 and 2025, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) assisted more than 3,500 people who had been trafficked into forced criminality across South-East Asia.
The survivors came from 39 countries, with Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Kenya and Bangladesh among the countries most represented.
The development of scam operations has therefore created a criminal model in which physical and digital infrastructure work together.
Maritime routes are particularly significant because of the enormous volume of legitimate trade moving through the region.
Criminal networks can exploit complex shipping and logistics systems to move equipment and other illicit goods while attempting to conceal them among lawful consignments.
Low-Earth-orbit satellite technology adds another dimension to the challenge.
Satellite connectivity can provide internet access in areas where conventional telecommunications infrastructure is limited, potentially allowing criminal groups to establish and maintain operations in remote locations.
The maritime warning also comes against a backdrop of expanding drug trafficking in the region. UNODC's 2026 World Drug Report says East and South-East Asia accounted for 48% of global methamphetamine seizures in 2024, with seizures continuing to rise in South-East Asia.
Another UNODC assessment found that methamphetamine seizures in East and South-East Asia reached a record 236 tonnes in 2024, with 94% of the total seized in South-East Asia.
The figures underline the scale of the illicit markets operating alongside the region's legitimate economy.
For Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, the UNODC warning highlights the need for closer cooperation between maritime authorities, customs agencies, police, financial intelligence units and cybercrime investigators.
The agency's assessment suggests that tackling individual criminal activities in isolation may no longer be sufficient because the same networks can share logistics, technology, financial channels and human resources across multiple forms of crime.
Strengthening maritime law enforcement could therefore become a critical component of the wider regional response, particularly in identifying suspicious cargo, improving information-sharing and disrupting the movement of equipment used to facilitate criminal operations.
As legitimate trade and digital connectivity continue to expand across South-East Asia, UNODC's warning points to a growing challenge for governments: protecting busy commercial routes without allowing the infrastructure that supports lawful trade to become an enabler for increasingly sophisticated transnational crime.