Editing Organized crime (section)

==Typical activities==
{{More citations needed|date=March 2024}}
Organized crime groups provide a range of illegal services and goods. Organized crime often victimizes businesses through the use of extortion or theft and fraud activities like hijacking cargo trucks and ships, robbing goods, committing bankruptcy fraud (also known as "bust-out"), insurance fraud or stock fraud (insider trading).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Herzlich |first=Taylor |date=2025-05-09 |title=Crime rings attack US supply chain at record rates using this sneaky tactic: report |url=https://nypost.com/2025/05/09/business/crime-rings-attack-us-supply-chain-at-record-rates-using-this-sneaky-tactic-report/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |language=en-US}}</ref> Organized crime groups also victimize individuals by [[car theft]] (either for dismantling at "chop shops" or for export), [[art theft]], [[Metal theft]], [[bank robbery]], burglary, jewelry and gems theft and heists, [[shoplifting]], [[Hacker (computer security)|computer hacking]], credit card fraud, [[Economic Espionage Act of 1996|economic espionage]], [[embezzlement]], [[identity theft]], and [[securities fraud]] ("[[pump and dump]]" scam).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Typical Activities Of Organized Crime |url=https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/organized-crime/typical-activities-of-organized-crime/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Crime Museum |language=en-US}}</ref> Some organized crime groups defraud national, state, or local governments by [[bid rigging]] public projects, counterfeiting money, smuggling or manufacturing untaxed alcohol ([[rum-running]]) or cigarettes ([[illicit cigarette trade|buttlegging]]), and providing immigrant workers to avoid taxes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bid Rigging, Organized Crime, and State Takeover of Cities {{!}} City Ethics |url=https://www.cityethics.org/content/bid-rigging-organized-crime-and-state-takeover-cities |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=www.cityethics.org}}</ref>

Organized crime groups seek out [[Corruption|corrupt]] public officials in executive, law enforcement, and judicial roles so that their [[Racketeering|criminal rackets]] and activities on the [[black market]] can avoid, or at least receive early warnings about, investigation and prosecution.<ref>{{Cite web |last=fromiti |title=Organized Crime Module 4 Key Issues: Links to Corruption |url=https://www.unodc.org/e4j/ru/organized-crime/module-4/key-issues/links-to-corruption.html |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=www.unodc.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Albanese |first=Jay S. |date=2025-03-01 |title=Corruption as the cause, not the effect, of organized crime?: A review and assessment of cases across the world |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949791425000132 |journal=Journal of Economic Criminology |volume=7 |pages=100137 |doi=10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100137 |issn=2949-7914|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Activities of organized crime include loansharking of money at very high interest rates, [[blackmailing]], [[assassination]], [[Backyard breeder|backyard breeding]], [[bombing]]s, [[bookmaking]] and [[illegal gambling]], [[confidence trick]]s, forging early release prison documents, [[copyright infringement]], [[counterfeiting]] of intellectual property, [[metal theft]], [[fence (criminal)|fencing]], [[kidnapping]], [[sex trafficking]], [[smuggling]], [[drug trafficking]], [[arms trafficking]], impersonating armored truck drivers, oil smuggling, [[antiquities| antiquities smuggling]], [[organ trafficking]], [[contract killing]], [[identity document forgery]], [[money laundering]], [[bribery]], [[seduction]], [[electoral fraud]], [[insurance fraud]], [[point shaving]], [[price fixing]], cargo theft via fictions pickup, [[illegal taxicab operation]], illegal dumping of toxic waste, illegal trading of nuclear materials, military equipment smuggling, nuclear weapons smuggling, [[passport fraud]], providing illegal immigration and cheap labor, people smuggling, trading in endangered species, and [[trafficking in human beings]]. Organized crime groups also do a range of business and [[labor racketeering]] activities, such as [[Skimming (fraud)|skimming]] casinos, insider trading, setting up monopolies in industries such as garbage collecting, construction and cement pouring, bid rigging, getting "no-show" and "no-work" jobs, [[political corruption]] and bullying.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Office of Inspector General - U.S. Department of Labor |url=https://www.oig.dol.gov/laborracprogram.htm |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=www.oig.dol.gov}}</ref>

===Violence===
====Assault====
The commission of violent crime may form part of a criminal organization's 'tools' used to achieve criminogenic goals (for example, its threatening, authoritative, coercive, terror-inducing, or rebellious role), due to psycho-social factors (cultural conflict, aggression, rebellion against authority, access to illicit substances, counter-cultural dynamic), or may, in and of itself, be crime rationally chosen by individual criminals and the groups they form. [[Assault]]s are used for [[coercive]] measures, to "rough up" debtors, competition or recruits, in the commission of [[robbery|robberies]], in connection to other property offenses, and as an expression of counter-cultural authority;<ref>{{cite journal| last1 = Geis | first1 = Gilbert |title=Violence and Organized Crime|journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science|date=1966|volume=364|issue=1|pages=86–95|doi=10.1177/000271626636400109|s2cid=145170178 | issn = 0002-7162 }}</ref> violence is normalized within criminal organizations (in direct opposition to mainstream society) and the locations they control.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Finckenauer | first1 = James O.  |title=Problems of definition: What is organized crime? |date=2005 |volume=8 |issue=3 |doi=10.1007/s12117-005-1038-4 |journal=Trends in Organized Crime|pages=63–83|s2cid=144438868 | issn = 1084-4791 }}</ref>  Whilst the intensity of violence is dependent on the types of crime the organization is involved in (as well as their organizational structure or cultural tradition) aggressive acts range on a spectrum from low-grade physical assaults to [[Major trauma|major trauma assaults]]. Bodily harm and grievous bodily harm, within the context of organized crime, must be understood as indicators of intense social and cultural conflict, motivations contrary to the security of the public, and other psycho-social factors.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lynch |last2= Phillips |title=Organized Crime--Violence and Corruption |journal=Journal of Public Law |date=1971 |volume=20 |issue=59 |url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/emlj20&div=10&id=&page= | issn = }}</ref>

====Murder====
[[Murder]] has evolved from the honor and vengeance killings of the [[yakuza]] or [[Sicilian mafia]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Gambetta|title=The Sicilian Mafia: the business of private protection|date=1996|publisher=Harvard University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y3bv3tqWftYC&q=The+Sicilian+Mafia:+the+business+of+private+protection|isbn=9780674807426}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Cottino|first=Amedeo|title=Sicilian cultures of violence: The interconnections between organized crime and local society|journal=Crime, Law and Social Change|date=1 January 1999|volume=32|issue=2|pages=103–113|doi=10.1023/A:1008389424861 | issn = 0925-4994 |s2cid=141221639}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Zuckerman|title=Vengeance is mine: Jimmy "the Weasel" Fratianno tells how he brought the kiss of death to the Mafia|date=1987|publisher=Macmillan|url=http://www.getcited.org/pub/102608708|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111118164823/http://www.getcited.org/pub/102608708|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-11-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Radinsky |first1=M |title=Retaliation: The Genesis of a Law and the Evolution toward International Cooperation: An Application of Game Theory to Modern International Conflicts |journal=George Mason Law Review (Student Edition) |date=1994 |volume=2 |issue=53 |url= http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/gmulr2&div=8&id=&page= | issn = }}</ref> which placed large physical and symbolic importance on the act of murder, its purposes and consequences,<ref>{{cite book |last=Salter|first=F|title=Risky transactions: trust, kinship, and ethnicity|date=2002|publisher=Berghahn Books|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PwdegV06vuwC&q=mafia+vengeance|isbn=9781571817105}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Roots|first=R.|title=Mafia Brotherhoods: Organized Crime, Italian Style|journal=Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews|date=1 January 2005|volume=34|issue=1|pages=67–68|doi=10.1177/009430610503400145|s2cid=197655787 | issn = 0094-3061}}</ref> to a much less discriminate form of expressing power, enforcing criminal authority, achieving retribution or eliminating competition. The role of the [[hit man]] has been generally consistent throughout the history of organized crime, whether that be due to the efficiency or expediency of hiring a professional assassin or the need to distance oneself from the commission of murderous acts (making it harder to prove criminal culpability). This may include the assassination of notable figures (public, private or criminal), once again dependent on authority, retribution or competition. Revenge killings, armed robberies, violent disputes over controlled territories and offenses against members of the public must also be considered when looking at the dynamic between different criminal organizations and their (at times) conflicting needs. After killing their victims, the gangsters often try to destroy evidence by getting rid of the victims remains in such a way as to prevent, hinder, or delay the discovery of the body, to prevent identification of the body, or to prevent autopsy. The different ways that organized criminals have been known to [[Disposal of human corpses#Criminal disposal|dispose of dead bodies]] include but are not limited to hiding the bodies in trash or landfills, feeding the bodies to animals (such as [[pig]]s or [[rat]]s),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ponti |first=Crystal |title=Horrible Ways People Have Used Animals to Commit Murders |url=https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/when-people-use-animals-to-murder |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=A&E |language=en}}</ref> destruction by industrial process (such as machinery, chemical bath, molten metal or a junked car), injection into the legitimate body disposal system (such as morgues, funeral homes, cemeteries, crematoriums, funeral pyres or cadaver donations) or covert killings at health care facilities, disguising as animal flesh (such as food waste or restaurant food), creating false evidence of the circumstances of death and letting investigators dispose of the body, possibly obscuring identity, abandonment in a remote area where the body can degrade significantly, while exposure to elements (such as rain, wind, heat, etc.) as well as animal activity (such as consumption by [[scavenger]]s) can contaminate the [[crime scene]] or destroy evidence before being discovered, if ever, such as a wilderness area (such as national parks or nature reserves)<ref>{{Cite news |date=1973-02-05 |title=Mob Favors Pinelands for Burials |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/02/05/archives/mob-favors-pinelands-for-burials.html |access-date=2023-03-02 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> or an abandoned area (such as an abandoned building, well or mine). However, there are also many instances of gangsters putting the bodies of their victims on display as a form of [[psychological warfare]] against their enemies.

====Vigilantism====
{{main|Vigilantism}}
Criminal syndicates often commit acts of vigilantism by enforcing laws, investigating certain criminal acts and punishing those who violate such rules. People who are often targeted by organized criminals tend to be individualistic criminals, people who committed crimes that are considered particularly heinous by society, people who committed wrongdoings against members or associates, rivals or terrorist groups. One reason why criminal groups might commit vigilantism in their neighborhoods is to prevent heavy levels of [[community policing]], that could be harmful to their illicit businesses; additionally the vigilante acts could help the gangs to ingratiate themselves in their [[community|communities]].

In the US during the roaring twenties, the [[Anti-Catholicism in the United States|anti-catholic]] and [[Antisemitism in the United States|anti-semitic]] [[Ku Klux Klan]] was known to be a staunch enforcer of prohibition, as a result [[American Mafia|Italian]], [[Irish Mob|Irish]], [[Polish-American organized crime|Polish]] and [[Jewish-American organized crime|Jewish]] gangsters would at times have violent confrontations against the KKK. On one occasion FBI informant and mobster [[Gregory Scarpa]] kidnapped and tortured a local Klansman into revealing the bodies of Civil rights workers who had been killed by the KKK.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.memphisdailynews.com/editorial/ArticleEmail.aspx?id=48173|title=Ex-Klansman Convicted in '64 Slayings Sues FBI - Memphis Daily News|website=www.memphisdailynews.com}}</ref> During World War II, America had a growing number of Nazi supporters that formed the [[German American Bund]], which was known to be threatening to local Jewish people, as a result Jewish mobsters (such as [[Meyer Lansky]], [[Bugsy Siegel]] and [[Jack Ruby]]) were often hired by the American Jewish community to help defend against the Nazi bund, even going as far as attacking and killing Nazi sympathizers during bund meetings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/but-they-were-good-to-their-people/|title = How Jewish Gangsters Fought the Nazis}}</ref> Vigilante groups such as the [[Black Panther Party]], [[White Panther Party]], and [[Young Lords]] have been accused of committing crimes in order to fund their political activities.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |date=2014-09-09 |title=Terrorism, COINTELPRO, and the Black Panther Party: An Interview With Law Professor Angela A. Allen-Bell |url=https://truthout.org/articles/terrorism-cointelpro-and-the-black-panther-party-an-interview-with-law-professor-angela-a-allen-bell/ |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=Truthout |language=en-US}}</ref>

While protection racketeering is often seen as nothing more than extortion, criminal syndicates that participate in [[protection racket]]s have at times provided genuine protection against other criminals for their clients, the reason for this is because the criminal organization would want the business of their clients to do better so that the gang can demand even more protection money, additionally if the gang has enough knowledge of the local [[Fence (criminal)|fencers]], they may even be able to track down and retrieve any objects that were stolen from the business owner, to further help their clients the gang may also force out, disrupt, vandalize, steal from or shutdown competing businesses for their clients.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1155/2018/3568085 |doi-access=free|title=Countering Protection Rackets Using Legal and Social Approaches: An Agent-Based Test|date=2018 | last1 = Székely | first1 = Áron | last2 = Nardin | first2 = Luis G. | last3 = Andrighetto | first3 = Giulia |journal=Complexity|volume=2018|pages=1–16 | issn = 1076-2787 }}</ref> In Colombia the insurgent groups were trying to steal land, kidnap family members, and extort money from the drug barons. As a result the drug lords of the [[Medellín Cartel]] formed a paramilitary vigilante group known as [[Muerte a Secuestradores]] ("Death to Kidnappers") to defend the cartel against the [[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia|FARC]] and [[19th of April Movement|M-19]], even kidnapping and torturing the leader of M-19 before leaving him tied up in front of a police station.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1996/killer2.htm|title=Colombia's Killer Networks: The Military - Paramilitary Partnership and the United States|access-date=2021-05-27|archive-date=2017-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012065408/https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1996/killer2.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the Medellín Cartel's war against the Colombian government, both the [[Norte del Valle Cartel]] and [[Cali Cartel]] formed and operated a vigilante group called [[Los Pepes]] (which also comprised members of the Colombian government, police and former members of the Medellín Cartel) to bring about the downfall of Pablo Escobar; they did so by bombing the properties of the Medellín Cartel and kidnapping, torturing and killing Escobar's associates as well as working alongside the [[Search Bloc]], which would eventually lead to the dismantling of the Medellín Cartel and the death of Pablo Escobar.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://allthatsinteresting.com/los-pepes|title = The Story of los Pepes, the Vigilantes Who Waged War on Pablo Escobar|date = 20 April 2018}}</ref> Because of the high levels of corruption, the [[Oficina de Envigado]] would do things to help the police and vice versa, to the point where the police and the cartel would sometimes do operations together against other criminals; additionally the leaders of La Oficina would often act as judges to mediate disputes between the various different drug gangs throughout Colombia, which according to some helped prevented a lot of disputes from turning violent.<ref>{{cite news|last=Alsema |first=Adriaan |url=https://colombiareports.com/medellin-police-gave-mafia-boss-radio-access-intelligence-prosecution/ |title=Medellin mafia boss given police radio and access to intelligence: prosecution |newspaper=Colombia News &#124; Colombia Reports |publisher=Colombiareports.com |date=2018-02-13 |access-date=2022-02-14}}</ref>

On Somalia coastline many people rely on fishing for economic survival, because of this [[Piracy off the coast of Somalia|Somali pirates]] are often known to attack foreign vessels who partake in [[illegal fishing]] and [[overfishing]] in their waters and vessels that illegally dump waste into their waters. As a result, marine biologists say that the local [[fishery]] is recovering.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://a24media.com/downloads/pdf/scripts/english/kenyan_fishermen_celebrate_somali_pirates.pdf |title=Archived copy |website=a24media.com |access-date=11 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101025135024/http://a24media.com/downloads/pdf/scripts/english/kenyan_fishermen_celebrate_somali_pirates.pdf |archive-date=25 October 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In Mexico a vigilante group called [[Grupos de autodefensa comunitaria]] was formed to counter the [[Illegal logging|illegal loggers]], the [[La Familia Michoacana|La Familia Michoacana Cartel]] and a drug cartel/[[cult]] known as the [[Knights Templar Cartel]]; as they grew, they were being joined by former cartel members and as they got bigger they began to sell drugs in order to buy weapons. The Knights Templar Cartel was eventually defeated and dissolved by the vigilantes' actions but they ended up forming their own cartel called [[Los Viagras]], which has links with the [[Jalisco New Generation Cartel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jornada.com.mx/2016/04/17/politica/012n1pol|title = La Jornada: El cártel Jalisco Nueva generación entregó armas a los Viagras|date = 17 April 2016}}</ref> The [[Minuteman Project]] is a [[Far-right politics in the United States|far-right]] paramilitary organization that seeks to prevent [[illegal immigration]] across the [[US-Mexico border]]; however, doing so is detrimental to gangs like [[MS-13|Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)]], who make money through [[people smuggling]], and as a result MS-13 is known to commit acts of violence against members of the Minutemen, to prevent them from interfering with their illegal immigration activities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050328-125306-7868r.htm|title = Gang will target Minuteman vigil on Mexico border}}</ref> Throughout the world there are various anti-gang vigilante groups, who profess to be fighting against gang influence, but share characteristics and acts similarly to gangs, including [[Sombra Negra]], [[Friends Stand United]], [[People Against Gangsterism and Drugs]], and [[Waray-Waray gangs#Philippine Drug War|OG Imba]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39143 |title=RIGHTS-EL SALVADOR: Death Squads Still Operating |publisher=www.ipsnews.net |access-date=11 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071108233217/http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39143 |archive-date=8 November 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://afraf.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/08/16/afraf.adr046.abstract |title = The Politics of Mobilization for Security in South African Townships |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130415140528/http://afraf.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/08/16/afraf.adr046.abstract |archive-date=15 April 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Gangs that are involved in drug trafficking often commit violent acts to stop or force out independent dealers—drug dealers with no gang ties—to keep them from taking customers.

In America, there is an [[animal welfare]] organization called Rescue Ink, in which [[Outlaw motorcycle club|outlaw biker gang]] members volunteer to rescue animals in need and combat against people who commit animal cruelty, such as breaking up [[cockfight]]ing rings, stopping the killing of stray [[cats]], breaking up [[Dog fighting in the United States|dog fighting]] rings, and rescuing [[pets]] from abusive owners.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ronproject.com/american-biker-gang-saves-animals/|title=Tough biker gang goes on the hunt for dog fight rings and saves animals from abuse}}</ref> In the American prison system, [[prison gang]]s are often known to physically harm and even kill inmates who have committed such crimes as [[child murder]], [[serial killing]], [[pedophilia]], [[hate crimes]], [[domestic violence]], and [[rape]], and inmates who have committed crimes against the [[Elder abuse|elderly]], [[Animal cruelty|animals]], the [[Disability abuse|disabled]], the poor and the less fortunate.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.findlaw.com/blotter/2013/08/who-gets-protective-custody-in-jail-or-prison.html|title = Who Gets Protective Custody in Jail or Prison?|date = 7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://litwc.com/2006/09/29/child-molesters-in-prison-dont-get-treated-nice-and-in-one-case-got-marked/ |title=Child Molesters in Prison don't get treated nice, and in one case got marked |access-date=2021-05-29 |archive-date=2009-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090516004452/http://litwc.com/2006/09/29/child-molesters-in-prison-dont-get-treated-nice-and-in-one-case-got-marked/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In many minority communities and poor neighborhoods, residents often distrust law enforcement, as a result the [[Gang|gang syndicates]] often take over to "police" their neighborhoods by committing acts against people who had committed crimes such as [[bullying]], muggings, [[home invasions]], hate crimes, [[stalking]], [[sexual assault]], domestic violence and [[child molestation]], as well as mediating disputes between neighbors. The ways that the gangs would punish such individuals could range from forced apologies, being threatened, being forced to return stolen objects, [[vandalizing]] property, arson, being forced to [[Relocation (personal)|move]], [[bomb]]ings, being [[assault]]ed or [[battery (crime)|battered]], kidnappings, [[false imprisonment]], [[torture]] or being murdered.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/96039.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2021-05-27 |archive-date=2021-05-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527095929/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/96039.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some criminal syndicates have been known to hold their own "trials" for members of theirs who had been accused of wrongdoing; the punishments that the accused member would face if "found guilty" would vary depending on the offense.

====Terrorism====
{{main|Terrorism}}
In addition to what is considered traditional organized crime involving direct crimes of fraud swindles, scams, racketeering and other acts motivated for the accumulation of monetary gain, there is also non-traditional organized crime which is engaged in for political or ideological gain or acceptance. Such crime groups are often labelled [[List of designated terrorist groups|terrorist groups]] or [[Narcoterrorism|narcoterrorists]].<ref name="terror">[https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/pdf-files/NarcsFundedTerrs_Extrems.pdf A GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF NARCOTICS-FUNDED TERRORIST AND OTHER EXTREMIST GROUPS] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215035951/http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/pdf-files/NarcsFundedTerrs_Extrems.pdf |date=2017-12-15 }}, May 2002, Library of Congress – Federal Research Division</ref><ref>Testimony of Victor Comras to the US House Subcommittee on Financial Oversight and Investigations, hearings on Current and Evolving Trends in Terrorism Financing. September 28, 2010.</ref>

There is no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law [[definition of terrorism#In international law|definition of terrorism]].<ref name=Martyn>Angus Martyn, [http://www.aph.gov.au/library/Pubs/CIB/2001-02/02cib08.htm The Right of Self-Defence under International Law-the Response to the Terrorist Attacks of 11 September] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524071529/http://www.aph.gov.au/library/Pubs/CIB/2001-02/02cib08.htm |date=May 24, 2008 }}, Australian Law and Bills Digest Group, Parliament of Australia Web Site, 12 February 2002.</ref><ref>Thalif Deen. [http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=29633 POLITICS: U.N. Member States Struggle to Define Terrorism] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611053853/http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=29633 |date=June 11, 2011 }}, [[Inter Press Service]], 25 July 2005.</ref> Common definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for a religious, political or ideological goal, deliberately target or disregard the safety of [[non-combatant]]s (e.g., [[Neutrality (international relations)|neutral]] [[military personnel]] or [[civilians]]), and are committed by non-government agencies.<ref name="terror"/> Some definitions also include acts of [[Law|unlawful]] violence and war, especially [[crimes against humanity]] (''see the [[Nuremberg Trials]]''), Allied authorities deeming the [[German Nazi Party]], its paramilitary and police organizations, and numerous associations subsidiary to the Nazi Party "criminal organizations". The use of similar tactics by criminal organizations for [[protection racket]]s or to enforce a [[code of silence]] is usually not labeled terrorism though these same actions may be labeled terrorism when done by a politically motivated group.

Notable groups include the [[Medellín Cartel]], [[Corleonesi Mafia]], various [[Mexican cartel|Mexican Cartels]], and [[Jamaican Posse]].

====Other====
* [[Arms trafficking]]
* [[Metal theft]]
* [[Arson]]
* [[Coercion]]
* [[Extortion]]
* [[Protection racket]]
* [[Sexual assault]]

===Financial crime===
{{More citations needed|date=June 2011}}
{{main|Money laundering}}
Organized crime groups generate large amounts of money by activities such as drug trafficking, arms smuggling, extortion, theft, and financial crime.<ref>[http://www.fsa.gov.uk/about/what/financial_crime Fighting financial crime] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323113610/http://www.fsa.gov.uk/about/what/financial_crime |date=2019-03-23 }}, FSA.gov.uk, Retrieved November 7, 2013</ref> These illegally sourced assets are of little use to them unless they can disguise it and convert it into funds that are available for investment into legitimate enterprise. The methods they use for converting its 'dirty' money into 'clean' assets encourages corruption. Organized crime groups need to hide the money's illegal origin. This allows for the expansion of OC groups, as the 'laundry' or 'wash cycle' operates to cover the money trail and convert proceeds of crime into usable assets. Money laundering is bad for international and domestic trade, banking reputations and for effective governments and rule of law. This is due to the methods used to hide the proceeds of crime. These methods include, but are not limited to: buying easily transported values, transfer pricing, and using "underground banks,"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.publicpolicy.umd.edu/sites/default/files/reuter/files/levi_and_reuter.pdf|title=Money Laundering|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123160656/http://faculty.publicpolicy.umd.edu/sites/default/files/reuter/files/levi_and_reuter.pdf|archive-date=2018-11-23}}</ref> as well as infiltrating firms in the legal economy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mirenda |first1=Litterio |last2=Mocetti |first2=Sauro |last3=Rizzica |first3=Lucia |date=2022 |title=The Economic Effects of Mafia: Firm Level Evidence |url=https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20201015 |journal=American Economic Review |language=en |volume=112 |issue=8 |pages=2748–2773 |doi=10.1257/aer.20201015 |s2cid=251141537 |issn=0002-8282}}</ref>

Launderers will also co-mingle illegal money with revenue made from businesses in order to further mask their illicit funds.  Accurate figures for the amounts of criminal proceeds laundered are almost impossible to calculate, rough estimates have been made, but only give a sense of the scale of the problem and not quite how great the problem truly is.  The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime conducted a study, they estimated that in 2009, money laundering equated to about 2.7% of global GDP; this is equal to about 1.6 trillion US dollars.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-05-12 |title=Illicit money: how much is out there? |url=http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2011/October/illicit-money_-how-much-is-out-there.html |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=web.archive.org |archive-date=2018-05-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180512095414/http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2011/October/illicit-money_-how-much-is-out-there.html |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>  The [[Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering]] (FATF), an intergovernmental body set up to combat money laundering, has stated that "A sustained effort between 1996 and 2000 by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to produce such estimates failed."<ref name="Reuter2005">{{cite book | date = 2005 | title = Chasing Dirty Money: The Fight Against Money Laundering |chapter=How much Money is Laundered? | publisher = Peterson Institute | pages = 9–24 | isbn = 978-0-88132-529-4 | url =https://www.piie.com/publications/chapters_preview/381/2iie3705.pdf }}</ref> However, anti-money laundering efforts that seize money laundered assets in 2001 amounted to $386 million.<ref name="Reuter2005"/>  The rapid growth of money laundering is due to:
* the scale of organized crime precluding it from being a cash business - groups have little option but to convert its proceeds into legitimate funds and do so by investment, by developing legitimate businesses and purchasing property;
* globalization of communications and commerce - technology has made rapid transfer of funds across international borders much easier, with groups continuously changing techniques to avoid investigation; and,
* a lack of effective financial regulation in parts of the global economy.

Money laundering is a three-stage process:
* Placement: (also called immersion) groups 'smurf' small amounts at a time to avoid suspicion; physical disposal of money by moving crime funds into the legitimate financial system; may involve bank complicity, mixing licit and illicit funds, cash purchases and smuggling currency to safe havens.
* Layering: disguises the trail to foil pursuit. Also called 'heavy soaping'. It involves creating false paper trails, converting cash into assets by cash purchases.
* Integration: (also called 'spin dry): Making it into clean taxable income by real-estate transactions, sham loans, foreign bank complicity and false import and export transactions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Three Stages of Money Laundering: An In-depth Guide & Prevention |url=https://www.lexisnexis.com/en-gb/glossary/money-laundering-stages |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=www.lexisnexis.com}}</ref>

Means of money laundering:
* [[Money transmitter]]s, black money markets purchasing goods, gambling, increasing the complexity of the money trail.
* Underground banking (flying money), involves clandestine 'bankers' around the world.
* It often involves otherwise legitimate banks and professionals.

The policy aim in this area is to make the financial markets transparent, and minimize the circulation of criminal money and its cost upon legitimate markets.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Savona|first=E|title=Globalization of crime: The organizational variable.|journal=15th International Symposium on Economic Crime|date=1997}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal  | last1 = Savona | first1 = Ernesto U. | last2 = Vettori | first2 = Barbara |title=Evaluating the Cost of Organized Crime from a Comparative Perspective|journal=European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research|date=2009|volume=15|issue=4|pages=379–393|doi=10.1007/s10610-009-9111-1|s2cid=143912632 | issn = 0928-1371  }}</ref>

====Counterfeiting====
{{main|Counterfeiting}}
Counterfeiting money is another financial crime.  The counterfeiting of money includes illegally producing money that is then used to pay for anything desired.  In addition to being a financial crime, counterfeiting also involves manufacturing or distributing goods under assumed names.  Counterfeiters benefit because consumers believe they are buying goods from companies that they trust, when in reality they are buying low quality counterfeit goods.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iacc.org/resources/about/what-is-counterfeiting|title=What is Counterfeiting|website=International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition}}</ref> In 2007, the OECD reported the scope of counterfeit products to include food, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, electrical components, tobacco and even household cleaning products in addition to the usual films, music, literature, games and other electrical appliances, software and fashion.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Economic Impact of Counterfeiting and Piracy|journal=OECD|date=2007|volume=12|url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/13/12/38707619.pdf}}</ref>  A number of qualitative changes in the trade of counterfeit products:
* a large increase in fake goods which are dangerous to health and safety;
* most products repossessed by authorities are now household items rather than luxury goods;
* a growing number of technological products; and,
* production is now operated on an industrial scale.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Customs response to latest trends in Counterfeiting and piracy|journal=Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee|date=2005|url=http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resources/documents/comm_native_com_2005_0479_3_en_acte.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103214515/http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resources/documents/comm_native_com_2005_0479_3_en_acte.pdf|archive-date=2012-11-03}}</ref>

====Tax evasion====
{{main|Tax evasion}}
The economic effects of organized crime have been approached from a number of both theoretical and empirical positions, however the nature of such activity allows for misrepresentation.<ref>{{cite journal| last1 = Anderson | first1 = David A. |title=The Aggregate Burden of Crime|journal=Journal of Law and Economics|date=1999|volume=42|issue=2|pages=611–642|doi=10.1086/467436 |pmid= |jstor=10.1086/467436 |doi-access=free | issn = 1040-2446 }}</ref><ref name="Feige & Cebula 2011">{{cite journal  |last1=Feige |first1=Edgar L. |last2=Cebula |first2=Richard | title=Americaʼs Underground Economy: Measuring the Size, Growth and Determinants of Income Tax Evasion in the U.S. Growth  |journal=MPRA Paper |date=January 2011 |issue=29672  |url=http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/29672/1/MPRA_paper_29672.pdf  |language=en | issn =  }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Feige |first1=Edgar L. |last2=Urban |first2=Ivica |title=Measuring Underground (Unobserved, Non-Observed, Unrecorded) Economies in Transition Countries: Can We Trust GDP? |journal=William Davidson Institute Working Papers |date=1 March 2008 |issue=913  |url=http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64384/1/wp913.pdf  |access-date=|publisher=University of Michigan|hdl=2027.42/64384  |language=en |issn=  }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Feltenstein & Dabla-Norris|title=An Analysis of the Underground Economy and Its Macroeconomic Consequences|url=https://ideas.repec.org/p/imf/imfwpa/03-23.html|publisher=IMF|date=January 2003|journal=Ideas.repec}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Fugazza | first1 = Marco | last2 = Jacques | first2 = Jean-François |title=Labor market institutions, taxation and the underground economy. |journal=Journal of Public Economics |date=2004 |volume=88 |issue=1–2 |pages=395–418 |doi=10.1016/S0047-2727(02)00079-8  | issn = 0047-2727  }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Giovannini|first=E|title=Measuring the Non-Observed Economy: A Handbook.|date=2002|series=OECD Publishing|doi=10.1787/9789264175358-en|url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/9/20/1963116.pdf|isbn=9789264197459}}</ref> The level of taxation taken by a nation-state, rates of unemployment, mean household incomes and level of satisfaction with government and other economic factors all contribute to the likelihood of criminals to participate in tax evasion.<ref name="Feige & Cebula 2011"/> As most organized crime is perpetrated in the liminal state between legitimate and illegitimate markets, these economic factors must adjusted to ensure the optimal amount of taxation without promoting the practice of tax evasion.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Alexeev | first1 = Michael | last2 = Janeba | first2 = Eckhard | last3 = Osborne | first3 = Stefan  |title=Taxation and evasion in the presence of extortion by organized crime |journal=Journal of Comparative Economics|date=2004|volume=32|issue=3 |url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39641/3/wp256.pdf |doi=10.1016/j.jce.2004.04.002 |pages=375–387 |hdl=2027.42/39641 |hdl-access=free | issn = 0147-5967 }}</ref> As with any other crime, technological advancements have made the commission of tax evasion easier, faster and more globalized. The ability for organized criminals to operate fraudulent financial accounts, utilize illicit [[offshore bank]] accounts, access [[tax haven]]s or [[tax shelter]]s,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Masciandaro|first1=Donato|title=The Illegal Sector, Money Laundering and the Legal Economy: A Macroeconomic Analysis|journal=Journal of Financial Crime|date=2000|volume=8|issue=2|pages=103–112|url=http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1650586&show=abstract|doi=10.1108/eb025972|access-date=2011-06-11|archive-date=2012-09-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926181629/http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1650586&show=abstract|url-status=dead|issn=1359-0790}}</ref> and operating goods smuggling syndicates to evade importation taxes help ensure financial sustainability, security from law enforcement, general anonymity and the continuation of their operations. Al Capone became a notorious example of tax evasion. In 1931, he was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $215,000 in back taxes, along with accrued interest<ref>{{Cite web |title=Al Capone |url=https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/al-capone |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=Federal Bureau of Investigation |language=en-us}}</ref>

===Cybercrime===
{{main|Cybercrime}}

====Internet fraud====
{{main|Identity theft|internet fraud}}
Identity theft is a form of [[fraud]] or cheating of another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name. Victims of identity theft (those whose identity has been assumed by the identity thief) can suffer adverse consequences if held accountable for the perpetrator's actions, as can organizations and individuals who are defrauded by the identity thief, and to that extent are also victims. Internet fraud refers to the actual use of [[Internet]] services to present fraudulent solicitations to prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent transactions, or to transmit the proceeds of fraud to financial institutions or to others connected with the scheme. In the context of organized crime, both may serve as means through which other criminal activity may be successfully perpetrated or as the primary goal themselves. [[Email fraud]], [[advance-fee fraud]], [[romance scam]]s, [[employment scams]], and other [[phishing]] scams are the most common and most widely used forms of identity theft,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Choo|title=Organized crime groups in cyberspace: a typology|journal=Trends in Organized Crime|date=2008|volume=11| issue=3|doi=10.1007/s12117-008-9038-9|pages=270–295|s2cid=144928585}}</ref> though with the advent of social networking fake websites, accounts and other fraudulent or deceitful activity has become commonplace.

====Copyright infringement====
{{main|Copyright infringement}}
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under [[copyright]], infringing the copyright holder's [[exclusive right]]s, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make [[derivative work]]s. Whilst almost universally considered under [[civil procedure]], the impact and intent of organized criminal operations in this area of crime has been the subject of much debate. Article 61 of the [[Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights]] (TRIPs) requires that signatory countries establish [[criminal]] procedures and penalties in cases of willful trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy on a commercial scale. More recently copyright holders have demanded that states provide criminal sanctions for all types of copyright infringement.<ref>{{cite book |last=Li & Correa|title=Intellectual property enforcement: international perspectives |date=2009 |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bN3o1uwpKF4C&q=copyright+infringement+international+acta|isbn=9781848449251 }}</ref> Organized criminal groups capitalize on consumer complicity, advancements in security and anonymity technology, emerging markets and new methods of product transmission, and the consistent nature of these provides a stable financial basis for other areas of organized crime.<ref>[https://legamart.com/articles/guide-on-us-copyright-protection-in-foreign/A Primer on the US Copyright Protection InternationallySneha Solanki] Retrieved 6 October  2023</ref><ref>[https://www.ip-watch.org/2012/03/15/more-foreigners-find-themselves-targets-of-us-copyright-law/More Foreigners Find Themselves Targets Of US Copyright Law] Retrieved 6 October  2023</ref>

====Cyberwarfare====
{{main|Cyberwarfare}}
{{further|Titan Rain|Moonlight Maze}}
'''Cyberwarfare''' refers to politically motivated [[Computer crime|hacking]] to conduct [[Cyber spying|sabotage]] and [[espionage]].  It is a form of [[information warfare]] sometimes seen as analogous to [[conventional warfare]]<ref name="DOD - Cyberspace">{{cite web |url=http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/data/c/01473.html |title=DOD - Cyberspace |publisher=Dtic.mil |access-date=2011-12-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111118162815/http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/data/c/01473.html |archive-date=November 18, 2011 }}</ref> although this analogy is [[#Controversy over terms|controversial]] for both its accuracy and its political motivation. It has been defined as activities by a nation-state to penetrate another nation's computers or networks with the intention of causing civil damage or disruption.<ref name=Clarke>Clarke, Richard A. ''Cyber War'', HarperCollins (2010)</ref> Moreover, it acts as the "fifth domain of warfare,"<ref name=Economist>[http://www.economist.com/node/16481504?story_id=16481504&source=features_box1 "Cyberwar: War in the Fifth Domain"] ''Economist'', July 1, 2010</ref> and [[William J. Lynn]], U.S. Deputy [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]], states that "as a doctrinal matter, [[the Pentagon]] has formally recognized cyberspace as a new domain in warfare . . . [which] has become just as critical to military operations as land, sea, air, and space."<ref name=Lynn>Lynn, William J. III. [http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/66552/william-j-lynn-iii/defending-a-new-domain "Defending a New Domain: The Pentagon's Cyberstrategy"], ''Foreign Affairs'', September/October 2010, pp. 97-108</ref> Cyber [[espionage]] is the practice of obtaining confidential, sensitive, proprietary or classified information from individuals, competitors, groups, or governments using illegal exploitation methods on internet, networks, software or computers. There is also a clear military, political, or economic motivation. Unsecured information may be intercepted and modified, making [[espionage]] possible internationally. The recently established [[Cyber Command]] is currently debating whether such activities as commercial espionage or theft of intellectual property are criminal activities or actual "breaches of national security."<ref name=Clark2/> Furthermore, military activities that use computers and [[satellite]]s for coordination are at risk of equipment disruption. Orders and communications can be intercepted or replaced.  Power, water, fuel, communications, and transportation infrastructure all may be vulnerable to [[sabotage]]. According to Clarke, the civilian realm is also at risk, noting that the security breaches have already gone beyond stolen credit card numbers, and that potential targets can also include the electric power grid, trains, or the stock market.<ref name=Clark2>[http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/top/2010/09/24-11/Clarke-More-defense-needed-in-cyberspace.html "Clarke: More defense needed in cyberspace"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324191031/http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/top/2010/09/24-11/Clarke-More-defense-needed-in-cyberspace.html |date=2012-03-24 }} ''HometownAnnapolis.com'', September 24, 2010</ref>

====Computer viruses====
{{main|Computer virus|denial-of-service attack}}

The term "computer virus" may be used as an overarching phrase to include all types of true viruses, [[malware]], including [[computer worm]]s, [[Trojan horse (computing)|Trojan horse]]s, most [[rootkit]]s, [[spyware]], dishonest [[adware]] and other malicious and unwanted software (though all are technically unique),<ref>{{cite journal |last=Grabowsky|title=The Internet, Technology, and Organized Crime|journal=Asian Journal of Criminology |date=2007 |volume=2 |issue=2 |doi=10.1007/s11417-007-9034-z |pages=145–161|s2cid=144677777|hdl=1885/21260 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> and proves to be quite financially lucrative for criminal organizations,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Williams|title=Organized Crime and Cybercrime: Synergies, Trends, and Responses|journal=Global Issues|date=2001|volume=6|issue=2|url=http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/AbstractDB/AbstractDBDetails.aspx?id=191389   |id={{NCJ|191389}}  }}</ref> offering greater opportunities for [[fraud]] and [[extortion]] whilst increasing security, secrecy and anonymity.<ref>{{cite journal|last=O'Neil |title=Rebels for the System? Virus Writers, General Intellect, Cyberpunk and Criminal Capitalism |journal=Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies |date=2006 |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=225–241 |url=http://adsri.anu.edu.au/pubs/ONeil/O%27Neil_VirusWriters.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110407174526/http://adsri.anu.edu.au/pubs/ONeil/O%27Neil_VirusWriters.pdf |archive-date=April 7, 2011 |doi=10.1080/10304310600641760 |s2cid=39204645 |hdl=1885/30644 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>  Worms may be utilized by organized crime groups to exploit security [[vulnerability (computing)|vulnerabilities]] (duplicating itself automatically across other computers a given network),<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Weaver | first1 = Nicholas | last2 = Paxson | first2 = Vern | last3 = Staniford | first3 = Stuart | last4 = Cunningham | first4 = Robert| title = Proceedings of the 2003 ACM workshop on Rapid malcode | chapter = A taxonomy of computer worms|pages=11–18 |date=2003 |chapter-url=http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=948190 |doi=10.1145/948187.948190 |isbn=1581137850 |s2cid=2298495}}</ref>  while a Trojan horse is a program that appears harmless but hides malicious functions (such as retrieval of stored confidential data, corruption of information, or interception of transmissions). Worms and Trojan horses, like viruses, may harm a computer system's data or performance. Applying the Internet model of organized crime, the proliferation of computer viruses and other malicious software promotes a sense of detachment between the perpetrator (whether that be the criminal organization or another individual) and the victim; this may help to explain vast increases in cyber-crime such as these for the purpose of ideological crime or terrorism.<ref>{{cite book |last=Linden|title=Focus on Terrorism|date=2007|publisher=Nova Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wl-Ds42YMDIC&q=Focus+on+Terrorism+linden|isbn=9781600217098}}</ref> In mid July 2010, security experts discovered a malicious software program that had infiltrated factory computers and had spread to plants around the world. It is considered "the first attack on critical industrial infrastructure that sits at the foundation of modern economies," notes the ''New York Times.''<ref>[http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/malware-hits-computerized-industrial-equipment/ "Malware Hits Computerized Industrial Equipment"] ''New York Times'', September 24, 2010</ref>

===White-collar crime and corruption===
{{More citations needed|date=June 2011}}
{{main|White-collar crime|corruption}}

====Corporate crime====
{{main|Corporate crime}}
Corporate crime refers to crimes committed either by a [[corporation]] (i.e., a [[business entity]] having a separate legal personality from the [[natural person]]s that manage its activities), or by individuals that may be identified with a corporation or other business entity (see [[vicarious liability (criminal)|vicarious liability]] and [[corporate liability]]).  Corporate crimes are motivated by either the individuals desire or the corporations desire to increase profits.<ref name="Social Class and Crime">{{Cite web|url=https://revisesociology.com/tag/corporate-crime/|title=corporate crime|website=ReviseSociology|date=19 July 2021 }}</ref>  The cost of corporate crimes to United States taxpayers is about $500 billion.<ref name="Social Class and Crime"/>  Note that some forms of corporate corruption may not actually be criminal if they are not specifically illegal under a given system of laws. For example, some jurisdictions allow [[insider trading]]. The different businesses that organized crime figures have been known to operate is vast, including but not limited to pharmacies, [[import-export companies]], [[Check-cashing business|check-cashing stores]], tattoo parlors, zoos, online dating sites, liquor stores, motorcycle shops, banks, hotels, ranches and plantations, electronic stores, beauty salons, [[real estate company|real estate companies]], daycares, [[Picture frame|framing stores]], taxicab companies, phone companies, shopping malls, jewelry stores, modeling agencies, dry cleaners, pawn shops, [[pool hall]]s, clothing stores, [[Freight company|freight companies]], [[Charity (practice)|charity foundations]], youth centers, recording studios, sporting goods stores, furniture stores, gyms, insurance companies, [[Security company|security companies]], [[law firms]], and [[private military companies]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.leadershipgirl.com/white-collar-crime-affect-your-company/|title = Business Finances: How White Collar Crime Can Affect Your Company - Leadership Girl|date = 23 May 2017}}</ref>  One example of this is a tequila factory in Mexico collaborating with the organized crime group CJNG. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Dalby |first=Chris |date=2020-06-10 |title=Mexico's Criminal Groups and Tequila Industry Continue Thorny Relationship |url=https://insightcrime.org/news/brief/mexico-criminal-groups-tequila/#:~:text=The%20CJNG%20is%20far%20from,this%20may%20not%20be%20enough. |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=InSight Crime |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Labor racketeering<!--'Labor racketeering' redirects here-->====
'''Labor racketeering'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->, as defined by the United States Department of Labor, is the infiltrating, exploiting, and controlling of employee benefit plan, union, employer entity, or workforce that is carried out through illegal, violent, or fraudulent means for profit or personal benefit.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oig.dol.gov/laborracprogram.htm|title=Office of Inspector General - U.S. Department of Labor|website=www.oig.dol.gov|access-date=2019-11-01}}</ref> Labor racketeering has developed since the 1930s, affecting national and international construction, mining, energy production and transportation<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/315/521/|title=United States v. Teamsters Local 807, 315 U.S. 521 (1942)|website=Justia Law}}</ref> sectors immensely.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jacobs & Peters|title=Labor Racketeering: The Mafia and the Unions|journal=Crime and Justice|date=2003|volume=30|pages=229–282|jstor=1147700|doi=10.1086/652232|s2cid=147774257}}</ref> Activity has focused on the importation of cheap or [[unfree labor]], involvement with union and public officials ([[political corruption]]), and [[counterfeiting]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Siegel & Nelen|title=Organized Crime: Culture, Markets and Policies|date=2008|publisher=Springer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9i0bPHB6HdMC&q=organised+crime+nelen|isbn=9780387747330}}</ref>

====Political corruption====
{{main|Political corruption}}
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain.<ref>{{cite book |last=Buscaglia, Edgardo|title= On Best and Not So Good Practices for Addressing High-level Corruption Worldwide: An Empirical Assessment. Chapter 16 |date=2011|publisher=Elgar|isbn= 9780857936523 |url= https://www.elgaronline.com/view/9781849802512.00027.xml}}</ref> Misuse of [[government]] power for other purposes, such as [[Political repression|repression]] of political opponents and general [[police brutality]], is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by private persons or corporations not directly involved with the government. An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties. Forms of corruption vary, but include [[bribery]], [[extortion]], [[cronyism]], [[nepotism]], [[patronage]], [[Graft (politics)|graft]], and [[embezzlement]]. While corruption may facilitate criminal enterprise such as [[drug trafficking]], [[money laundering]], and [[human trafficking]], it is not restricted to these activities. The activities that constitute illegal corruption differ depending on the country or jurisdiction. For instance, certain political funding practices that are legal in one place may be illegal in another. In some cases, government officials have broad or poorly defined powers, which make it difficult to distinguish between legal and illegal actions. Worldwide, bribery alone is estimated to involve over 1 trillion US dollars annually.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6288400.stm African corruption 'on the wane'], 10 July 2007, [[BBC News]]</ref><ref>[https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/vertical-integration-organised-crime-linked-political-corruption The Vertical Integration of Organised Crime Linked to Political Corruption], 10 December 2017, [[Edgardo Buscaglia]]</ref> A state of unrestrained political corruption is known as a [[kleptocracy]], literally meaning "rule by thieves".

===Drug trafficking===
[[File:Drug traffic routes in Mexico.svg|thumb|upright=1.05|Drug trafficking routes in Mexico]]
There are three major regions that center around [[drug trafficking]], known as the [[Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)|Golden Triangle]] (Burma, Laos, Thailand), [[Golden Crescent]] (Afghanistan) and Central and South America. There are suggestions that due to the continuing decline in opium production in South East Asia, traffickers may begin to look to Afghanistan as a source of heroin."<ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/topics/pods/opioid-trafficking-routes|title=Heroin|website=Opioid Trafficking routes from Asia to Europe|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110402040501/http://www.aic.gov.au/crime_types/drugs_alcohol/drug_types/heroin.aspx|archive-date=2011-04-02|access-date=2019-11-01}}</ref>

With respect to organized crime and accelerating synthetic drug production in East and Southeast Asia, especially the [[Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)|Golden Triangle]], [[Sam Gor]], also known as The Company, is the most prominent international crime syndicate based in [[Asia-Pacific]]. It is made up of members of five different triads. [[Sam Gor]] is understood to be headed by Chinese-Canadian [[Tse Chi Lop]]. The Cantonese Chinese syndicate is primarily involved in drug trafficking, earning at least $8 billion per year.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Nicola |title=Drugs investigators close in on Asian 'El Chapo' at centre of vast meth ring |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/14/drugs-investigators-close-asian-el-chapo-centre-vast-meth-ring/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/14/drugs-investigators-close-asian-el-chapo-centre-vast-meth-ring/ |archive-date=2022-01-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Telegraph |date=14 October 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Sam Gor is alleged to control 40% of the Asia-Pacific [[methamphetamine]] market, while also trafficking [[heroin]] and [[ketamine]]. The organization is active in a variety of countries, including Myanmar, Thailand, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China and Taiwan. Sam Gor previously produced meth in Southern China and is now believed to manufacture mainly in the [[Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)|Golden Triangle]], specifically [[Shan State]], [[Myanmar]], responsible for much of the massive surge of crystal meth in recent years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2019/10/14/inside-the-hunt-for-the-man-known-as-asias-el-chapo/|title=Inside the hunt for the man known as 'Asia's El Chapo'|date=October 14, 2019}}</ref> The group is understood to be headed by [[Tse Chi Lop]], a Chinese-Canadian gangster born in [[Guangzhou]], China.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last1=Mavrellis |first1=Channing |last2=Cassara |first2=John |date=October 27, 2022 |title=Made in China: China's Role in Transnational Crime and Illicit Financial Flows |url=https://gfintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GFI-China-TOC-IFF-Report-FINAL-OCT-22.pdf |access-date=2022-12-21 |website=[[Global Financial Integrity]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Tse is a former member of the Hong Kong-based crime group, the [[Big Circle Gang]]. In 1988, Tse immigrated to Canada. In 1998, Tse was convicted of transporting heroin into the United States and served nine years behind bars. Tse has been compared in prominence to [[Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán]] and [[Pablo Escobar]].<ref name=el>{{cite news |last1=Allard |first1=Tom |title=The hunt for Asia's El Chapo |url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/meth-syndicate/ |publisher=Reuters |date=14 October 2019}}</ref>

The U.S. supply of heroin comes mainly from foreign sources which include Southeast Asia's [[Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)|Golden Triangle]], Southwest Asia, and Latin America. Heroin comes in two forms. The first is its chemical base form which presents itself as brown and the second is a salt form that is white.<ref name=":3" /> The former is mainly produced in Afghanistan and some south-west countries while the latter had a history of being produced in only south-east Asia, but has since moved to also being produced in Afghanistan. There is some suspicion white Heroin is also being produced in Iran and Pakistan, but it is not confirmed. This area of Heroin production is referred to as the Golden Crescent. Heroin is not the only drug being used in these areas. The European market has shown signs of growing use in opioids on top of the long-term heroin use.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/68371|title=The International Heroin Market|website=The White House|language=en|access-date=2019-11-01}} {{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Drug traffickers produce drugs in [[Clandestine chemistry|drug laboratories]] and drug farms. A drug lab can range in size from small [[workshop]]s to the size of small towns (such as [[Tranquilandia]]). A drug farm is a place where drug crops are grown before being made into illegal narcotics. A drug farm can range in size from [[smallholding]]s to large plantations. In addition to drug crops, it is also not uncommon for drug farms to also host [[livestock]], both to have a legal source of revenue to help disguise the dirty money and so that the livestock can provide a source of [[organic fertilizer]] (such as [[manure]]) for the drug crops.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://leafwell.com/blog/best-fertilizer-for-marijuana/#:~:text=Instead%2C%20utilize%20organic%20fertilizers%20like,lime%20for%20calcium%20or%20magnesium. | title=The 6 Best Fertilizers You Can Buy to Help Grow Marijuana }}</ref> There are multiple instances where traffickers set up some of their drug farms, [[safe house]]s and drug labs in remote [[wilderness]] areas.<ref name="Narco-deforestation">{{cite journal|last1=McSweeney|first1=Kendra|last2=Nielsen|first2=Erik|last3=Taylor|first3=Matthew|last4=Wrathall|first4=David|last5=Pearson|first5=Zoe|last6=Wang|first6=Ophelia|last7=Plumb|first7=Spencer|title=Drug Policy as Conservation Policy: Narco-Deforestation|journal=Science|date=January 31, 2014|volume=343|issue=6170|pages=489–490|url=http://raisg.socioambiental.org/system/files/Science-2014-McSweeney-489-90.pdf|doi=10.1126/science.1244082|pmid=24482468|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222082809/http://raisg.socioambiental.org/system/files/Science-2014-McSweeney-489-90.pdf|archive-date=December 22, 2015|bibcode=2014Sci...343..489M|s2cid=40371211}}</ref> Once produced, the fully processed narcotics are then transported to more populated areas to be sold. Oftentimes the traffickers stationed in these remote criminal settlements, sustain themselves with a combination of [[survival skills]] and with food, supplies and workers being brought to them by associates. The reason that traffickers have been known to establish such remote compounds is so that the surrounding area can help to provide varying degrees of natural cover. Additionally the traffickers may also hope, that the surrounding terrain and local [[wildlife]] might serve to deter or impede either investigative authorities or rival gangs if the location of the clandestine compound were revealed. While usually thought of as an urban issue, drug trafficking is also known to be a problem in both [[suburb]]an and [[rural area]]s as well.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/human-trafficking-americas-schools/trafficking-in-urban-suburban-rural-areas|title=Trafficking in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas &#124; National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE)|website=safesupportivelearning.ed.gov}}</ref>

===Human trafficking===
{{Main|Human trafficking}}Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery where people are forced, tricked, or pressured into working or doing sexual acts. It can happen anywhere and affect anyone, no matter their age, race, or background.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What Is Human Trafficking? {{!}} Homeland Security |url=https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/what-human-trafficking |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=www.dhs.gov |language=en}}</ref>

====Sex trafficking====
{{Main|Sex trafficking}}
[[Human trafficking]] for the purpose of sexual exploitation is a major cause of contemporary sexual slavery and is primarily for prostituting women and children into [[Prostitution|sex industries]].<ref name=voa>{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2009-05-15-voa30-68815957/413170.html |title=Experts encourage action against sex trafficking |publisher=.voanews.com |date=2009-05-15 |access-date=2010-08-29 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091223080032/http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2009-05-15-voa30-68815957.html?rss=human%2Brights%2Band%2Blaw |archive-date=December 23, 2009 }}</ref> Sexual slavery encompasses most, if not all, forms of forced prostitution.<ref>[http://www.unodc.org/pdf/traffickinginpersons_report_2006ver2.pdf Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns], the 2006 [[UNODC]] Anti-Human Trafficking Unit report</ref> The terms "[[forced prostitution]]" or "enforced prostitution" appear in international and humanitarian conventions but have been insufficiently understood and inconsistently applied. "Forced prostitution" generally refers to conditions of control over a person who is coerced by another to engage in sexual activity.<ref name="Reportof1998">{{cite web|url=http://www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/0/3d25270b5fa3ea998025665f0032f220?OpenDocument |title=Report of the Special Rapporteur on systemic rape |date=22 June 1998 |access-date=10 November 2009 |publisher=The United Nations Commission on Human Rights |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090723190557/http://www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/0/3d25270b5fa3ea998025665f0032f220?OpenDocument |archive-date=July 23, 2009 }}</ref> Official numbers of individuals in sexual slavery worldwide vary. In 2001 [[International Organization for Migration]] estimated 400,000, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] estimated 700,000 and [[UNICEF]] estimated 1.75 million.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/slaves/etc/stats.html Sex Slaves: Estimating Numbers], [[PBS]] "Frontline" fact site.</ref> The most common destinations for victims of human trafficking are Thailand, Japan, Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the United States, according to a report by [[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime|UNODC]].<ref name="BBC-UN-traffic">{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6497799.stm | work=BBC News | title=UN highlights human trafficking | date=26 March 2007 | access-date=6 April 2010}}</ref>

====Illegal immigration and people smuggling====
{{Main|People smuggling}}
{{See also|Snakehead (gang)|Coyotaje}}
[[People smuggling]] is defined as "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries laws, either clandestinely or through deception, such as the use of fraudulent documents".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/m/ds/hstcenter/90434.htm |title=US Department of State |publisher=State.gov |access-date=2011-12-17 }}</ref> The term is understood as and often used interchangeably with migrant smuggling, which is defined by the [[Convention against Transnational Organized Crime|United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime]] as "...the procurement, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into a state party of which the person is not a national".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/faqs-migrant-smuggling.html |title=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime |publisher=Unodc.org |date=2004-01-28 |access-date=2012-04-05}}</ref> This practice has increased over the past few decades and today now accounts for a significant portion of illegal immigration in countries around the world. People smuggling generally takes place with the consent of the person or persons being smuggled, and common reasons for individuals seeking to be smuggled include employment and economic opportunity, personal or familial betterment, and escape from persecution or conflict.

====Contemporary slavery and forced labor====
The number of [[Slavery|slaves]] today remains as high as 12 million<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ilo.org/global/Themes/Forced_Labour/lang--en/index.htm |title=Forced labor – Themes |publisher=Ilo.org |access-date=2010-03-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209072059/http://www.ilo.org/global/Themes/Forced_Labour/lang--en/index.htm |archive-date=February 9, 2010 }}</ref> to 27 million.<ref name="disposable-bales">{{cite book|last=Bales|first=Kevin|title=Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy|publisher=University of California Press|date=1999|page=[https://archive.org/details/disposablepeople00bale_0/page/9 9]|chapter=1|isbn=0-520-21797-7|chapter-url-access=registration|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/disposablepeople00bale_0|url=https://archive.org/details/disposablepeople00bale_0/page/9}}</ref><ref name=time>{{cite magazine |author=E. Benjamin Skinner |date=2010-01-18 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1952335,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111040618/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1952335,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 11, 2010 |title=sex trafficking in South Africa: World Cup slavery fear |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=2010-08-29 }}</ref><ref name="un.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.smfcdn.com/assets/pubs/un_chronicle.pdf |title=UN Chronicle &#124; Slavery in the Twenty-First Century |publisher=Un.org |access-date=2010-08-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716093517/http://www.smfcdn.com/assets/pubs/un_chronicle.pdf |archive-date=July 16, 2011 }}</ref> This is probably the smallest proportion of slaves to the rest of the world's population in history.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0901/p16s01-wogi.html |title=Slavery is not dead, just less recognizable |publisher=Csmonitor.com |date=2004-09-01 |access-date=2011-12-17}}</ref> Most are [[debt bondage|debt slaves]], largely in [[South Asia]], who are under [[debt bondage]] incurred by [[Loan sharks|lenders]], sometimes even for generations.<ref>{{cite web |author=UK |url=http://www.newint.org/issue337/facts.htm |title=Slavery in the 21st century |publisher=Newint.org |access-date=2010-08-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527095857/http://www.newint.org/issue337/facts.htm |archive-date=2010-05-27 }}</ref> It is the fastest growing criminal industry and is predicted to eventually outgrow [[illegal drug trade|drug trafficking]].<ref name=voa/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2783655.stm |title=Asia's sex trade is 'slavery' |work=BBC News |date=2003-02-20 |access-date=2010-08-29}}</ref>