Illegal vice trade in Urcea

The illegal vice trade in Urcea refers to criminal conduct relating to the distribution and sale of prohibited goods within Urcea, especially with respect to items prohibited by order of the Censor or by national law. Most items considered part of the vice trade are items considered inappropriate for personal consumption according to Catholic social teaching, ranging from pornographic materials to contraception.

Much of the vice trade within Urcea is conducted by organized crime syndicates, most of whom have foreign connections and sources. For various reasons including successful enforcement methods, production of vice materials within Urcea is limited.

Terminology

The "vice trade" refers broadly to the distribution and sale of any non-narcotic prohibited good or service in Urcea, but the term usually relates to three specific categories: pornography, contraceptives, and abortion, specifically provision of it or creation of support networks for abortion tourism. Prostitution and human trafficking are considered separate crimes but are almost always enforced as part of prosecutions against pornography. The Agency for Controlled Substances has an extensive list for prohibited items and services, which it summarizes as "items or practices which are against the common good of the people of Urcea and are contrary to the moral law."

Criminal networks

According to law enforcement, the vast majority of entry of vice materials or facilitation of vice-related services occur on Urcea's northern borders. Due to the existence of Levantine Union travel laws, individuals can enter and exit Urcea without a permit. Accordingly, the vice trade is commonly known to run from Yonderre through Anglei into Urcea on land or simply into Urcea from Yonderre by air travel. Law enforcement agencies also say that vice smuggling occurs frequently from Ardmore, as the proximity of the island nation allows smugglers to land in Roscampus or Lower Carolina.

Much of the vice trade in Urcea is known to center around the Urceopolitan borough of Campori, one of the poorest parts of the country.

Enforcement agencies

The "War on Vice" in Urcea is usually prosecuted by the Agency for Controlled Substances (ACS), whose primary mandate relates to vice crimes. ACS efforts are usually done in conjunction with local law enforcement or the Agency for Domestic Intellignece and Investigatory Services, Urcea's primary federal law enforcement agency.

Impact on human trafficking prosecutions

In Urcea, facilitators and producers of pornography are often charged with human trafficking. Urcea collaborates and cooperates with many foreign nations in its pursuit of human traffickers, and due to the common relationship between pornography and trafficking, Urcean investigators are viewed abroad to be particularly effective. This vigor, however, is also known to cause administrative problems overseas, as some pornographers operating in Urcea are charged with human trafficking and deported regardless of whether or not the participants in the pornography were willing. A major recent case occurred in 2024, when public outcry erupted in Yonderre as a Yonderian national named XX XX was arrested in Urcea and deported for filming a pornographic movie in Eastglen with paid volunteer actors; although this is not a crime in Yonderre, he was deported there and held as a criminal anyway at the request of the Government of Urcea. A compromise was reached whereby the man was sent back to Urcea and tried and convicted of his crimes there, then given a suspended sentence and returned to Yonderre.