Cane spent time in the Caucasus, including weeks touring Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh posing as a tourist. In that time he encountered human trafficking, drug smuggling, illegal arms dealing and theft of natural resources on an industrial scale. The book details the extent of his shocking findings, which are also detailed on Cane’s website www.narcokarabakh.net .
“Due to its current status, Nagorno-Karabakh exists in a vacuum. This fact has been ruthlessly exploited and allowed the territory to become used as a clearing house for international organised crime,” says the author, who has adopted a nom de plume amid safety fears, given that the book draws in actors such as the Armenian Mafia, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Afghan drug barons and some of the world’s most prominent illegal arms dealers. During his research, Cane was subjected to late night visits to his hotel by Interior Ministry Police in Yerevan, and beaten by officers in Stepanakert.
“What we discovered is that Nagorno-Karabakh is Ground Zero and these are not localised crimes,” says Cane. “And so much of these activities are linked with former Armenian Presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan. They built their billion dollar fortunes upon human misery on a shocking level.
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