Thread by @TorontoStar

In a crisis like a pandemic, crime tends to find new opportunities: slim resources, weakened enemies, business failures and sloppy security.

Experts agree #COVID19 crisis has hit facets of underworld life at varying degrees of intensity. Here’s how:

thestar.com/news/gta/2020/…

Immediately after the pandemic hit last March, illegal drugs became the toilet paper of the underworld — meaning cocaine, heroin and other narcotics were the target of panic buying and hoarding. thestar.com/news/gta/2020/…

After shutdowns and schedule shrinking hit many major sports leagues, gamblers showed they were eager to drop bets on virtually anything, including chess. thestar.com/news/gta/2020/…

The closure of government-run casinos also created an opening for lavish, spa-like illegal betting palaces to thrive. thestar.com/news/gta/2020/…

Opportunities presented themselves for organized criminals with deep pockets and plenty of liquid cash to become “hidden partners” in previously legitimate businesses. thestar.com/news/gta/2020/…

Criminals quickly cashed in on fact that cyberspace was suddenly central to work, education, health and entertainment after the #COVID19 outbreak. thestar.com/news/gta/2020/…

The pandemic has made it even tougher to fight human trafficking globally and in Canada, experts say.

Sexual exploitation — including “webcam sex trafficking” — has shot up during the pandemic, feeding off poverty, isolation and desperation. thestar.com/news/gta/2020/…

“The bad news is the surge of online activity during lockdown has multiplied the opportunities for the ever-growing cyber criminal fraternity,” Misha Glenny, a fellow at the Berggruen Institute think tank, writes on his blog. thestar.com/news/gta/2020/…

To discuss how organized crime has been affected by #COVID19, @rajumudhar talked with Peter Edwards, a reporter on the Star’s Courts Crime and Justice team, on the Star's #ThisMatters #podcast: thestar.com/podcasts/thism…