We have talked a little here at Rehabology, about the use of drug profits to fund certain terrorist groups. It has been a fairly natural progression as you simply need to look at a map to realise that the main drug producing regions of the world also have more than their fair share of terrorists, insurgents, mafiosi and freedom fighters.

Now while there are certainly a lot of groups who supplement their income through the drug trade, and some even exist primarily to profit from it, there are still those who have no verifiable involvement in drugs.

And there’s where it gets tricky.

As we have discussed before, drug accusations are a very easy way to seize the moral highground or destroy a person or group’s reputation. That makes the accusation a very tempting tool for people who find themselves opposed to those individuals or groups or in somewhat of a political bind themselves.

Politics forces the issue many times and we are left with accusations that are publicly accepted that would perhaps lack any strength in the face of critical analysis.

The recent accusations by Malaysian police regarding the alleged smuggling of drugs into the country by Philippino terror organisations could perhaps be an example of this. Yes, there were drugs in Malaysia. Yes, there are several Philipino groups who deal in drugs for profit. The probability of them smuggling to Malaysia, however, while not impossible, would seem somewhat improbable. More likely, they are a convenient scapegoat.

It is therefore necessary to be a little careful regarding accusations and remember that the rule of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ is an easy one to forget, but a hardfought idea to regain if we lose it.