HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A drug cartel is any
criminal organization Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
with the intention of supplying
drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...
operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the largest trafficking organizations reached an agreement to coordinate the production and distribution. The term is used to refer to any criminal narcotics related organization. The basic structure of a drug cartel is as follows: * Falcons (Spanish: ''Halcones''): Considered as the "eyes and ears" of the streets, the "falcons" are the lowest rank in any drug cartel. They are responsible for supervising and reporting the activities of the police, the military and rival groups. * Hitmen (Spanish: ''Sicarios''): The armed group within the drug cartel, responsible for carrying out assassinations, kidnappings, thefts and extortions, operating protection rackets, as well as defending their ''plaza'' (turf) from rival groups and the military. * Lieutenants (Spanish: ''Tenientes''): The second highest position in the drug cartel organization, responsible for supervising the hitmen and falcons within their own territory. They are allowed to carry out low-profile murders without permission from their bosses. *
Drug lord A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin or narcotrafficker is a high-ranking crime boss who controls a sizable network of people involved in the illegal drug trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they are normally not directly ...
s (Spanish: ''Capos''): The highest position in any drug cartel, responsible for supervising the entire drug industry, appointing territorial leaders, making alliances, in addition to planning high-profile murders. There are other operating groups within the drug cartels. For example, the drug producers and suppliers, although not considered in the basic structure, are critical operators of any drug cartel, along with the smugglers, distributors, sales representatives,
accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...
s and money launderers. Furthermore, the arms suppliers operate in a completely different circle; they are technically not considered part of the cartel's logistics.


Africa

*
Cape Verdean organized crime Cape Verdean organized crime refers to the various criminal organizations that are active in Cape Verde & Cape Verdean diaspora communities. Cape Verde is important as a transshipment point in the cocaine trade, and the existence of sizeable Cape ...
*
Mungiki Mungiki is a banned ethnic organisation in Kenya. The name (''mũngĩkĩ'', ) means "a united people" or "multitude" in the Kikuyu language. The religion, which apparently originated in the late 1980s, is secretive and bears some similarity to myst ...
Kinnear, Karen L (2009) ''Gangs: a reference handbook'', ABC-CLIO, * Organized crime in NigeriaShanty, Frank & Mishra, Patit (2007) ''Organized crime : from trafficking to terrorism'', ABC-CLIO, ** Confraternities in Nigeria ***
Black Axe (organized crime group) Black Axe is a confraternity in Nigeria that now operates as an international criminal organization, which originated around 1977. Among many crimes it was responsible for the Obafemi Awolowo University massacre. History According to BBC Africa ...
** Anini gang * Mai-Mai militia gangs * Moroccan hashish smugglers ** Ahmed organization


Americas


North America


Canada

* Rivard organization * Red Scorpions * Bacon Brothers * Montreal ** West End Gang ** Blass gang ** Dubois Brothers * Punjabi-Canadian organized crime **
Punjabi Mafia Punjabi-Canadian organized crime is made up of groups that are based in Canada and is made up predominantly of young adults and teenagers of Punjabi ethnic, cultural and linguistic background, while ethnically they typically belong to the Jat Si ...
ਜੌਹਲ ਗਿਰੋਹ (Canada)Schneider, Stephen (2009) ''Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada'', John Wiley and Sons, *Canadian mafia families ** Rizzuto crime family ** Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia clan ** Cotroni crime family ** Musitano crime family ** Papalia crime family ** Luppino crime family ** Perri crime family ** Siderno Group ** Commisso 'ndrina


Mexico

Mexican cartels (also known in Mexico as: ''la Mafia'' (the mafia or the mob), ''La Maña'' (the skill / the bad manners), ''narcotraficantes'' (narco-traffickers), or simply as ''narcos'' usually refers to several, rival, criminal organizations that are combated by the Mexican government in the Mexican War on Drugs (List sorted by branches and heritage): Note:As of 2020 the DEA considered the Cartels of Sinaloa-Beltran, Juarez-Linea, Jalisco, Golfo-Noreste-Zetas, La Familia and Rojos-Guerreros the most influential cartels in Mexico. *'' Gulf Cartel'' (The oldest Mexican criminal syndicate, started as prohibition-era bootlegging gang) ** Los Zetas (Formerly part of the Gulf Cartel, now independent) ** La Familia Michoacana (Formerly a branch of the Gulf Cartel, then went independent) (Disbanded) ** Knights Templar Cartel (Splintered from La Familia Cartel) *'' Guadalajara Cartel'' (The first full-fledged Mexican drug cartel, from which most of the big cartels spawned) (disbanded in 1989) *'' Sinaloa Cartel'' (Spawned from the Guadalajara Cartel) ** Colima Cartel (members are now a branch of the Sinaloa Cartel) ** Sonora Cartel (was reformed in 2018 and is still a branch of the Sinaloa Cartel) **
Artistas Asesinos Artistas Asesinos (also known as Doble A or AA) is a Mexican street gang that works as an enforcement wing of the Sinaloa Cartel The Sinaloa Cartel ( es, link=no, Cártel de Sinaloa), also known as the CDS, the Guzmán-Loera Organization, th ...
(hitman squad) (Disbanded) ** Gente Nueva (Sinaloa cell in Chihuahua) (Disbanded) **
Los Ántrax Los Ántrax is a large enforcer unit and hit squad for the Sinaloa Cartel, a major crime syndicate based in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The group was led by the drug lords Jesús Peña (alias "El 20"), José Rodrigo Aréchiga Gamboa (alias "E ...
(enforcer squad) *'' Milenio Cartel'' (First loyal to the Sinaloa Cartel federation, later independent) (disbanded) ** La Resistencia (Splintered from the Milenio Cartel) (Disbanded) ** Jalisco New Generation Cartel (Independent remnants of the Milenio Cartel) *''
Beltrán-Leyva Organization The Beltrán Leyva Organization (BLO), also known as the Beltrán Leyva Cartel; es, Cártel de los Beltrán Leyva (CBL), was a Mexican drug cartel and organized crime syndicate, formerly headed by the five Beltrán Leyva brothers: Marcos Artur ...
'' (Formerly part of the Sinaloa Cartel federation, later independent) (disbanded) ** Los Negros (Beltran-Leyva enforcement squad) (Disbanded) ** South Pacific Cartel (branch of the Beltran Leyva Cartel in Morelos) **Cártel del Centro (cell of the Beltran-Leyva Cartel in Mexico City) (Disbanded) **
Independent Cartel of Acapulco The Independent Cartel of Guerrero (Spanish: Cártel Independiente de Acapulco or CIDA) was a criminal gang based in the Mexican resort city of Acapulco, Guerrero and its surrounding territories. The criminal group came into existence during the ...
(Splinter from the Beltran-Leyva Cartel) ** La Barredora (gang) **El Comando Del Diablo (gang) (Hitman squad of la Barredora) (Disbanded) **La Mano Con Ojos (gang) (small cell of Beltran-Leyva members in the State of Mexico) (Disbanded) **La Nueva Administración (Splintered from the Beltran-Leyva Cartel) (Disbanded) **La Oficina (gang) (cell of the Beltran-Leyva Cartel in Aguascalientes) (Disbanded) **Cártel de la Sierra (cell in Guerrero) **Cártel de La Calle (cell in Chiapas) **Los Chachos (gang in Tamaulipas) (Disbanded) *'' Tijuana Cartel'' (Spawned from the Guadalajara Cartel) ** Oaxaca Cartel (Was a branch of the disbanded Tijuana Cartel, its regional leader was captured in 2007) *'' Juárez Cartel''(Spawned from the Guadalajara Cartel) **
La Línea LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
(Juárez Cartel enforcer squad) ** Barrio Azteca (U.S. street gang) (Allied with La Linea) *
Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel The Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel ( es, Cártel de Santa Rosa de Lima) or CSRL is a Mexican criminal organization from the state of Guanajuato. Founded in 2014, it was initially headed by "The Sledgehammer". They mainly earn their income from oil th ...
*
Caborca Cartel The Caborca Cartel ( es, Cártel de Caborca) is a Mexican criminal organization commanded by the veteran drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, (founder of the defunct Guadalajara Cartel) and concentrating its drug trafficking operations in the border m ...
*Lesser-known small-
criminal organizations Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
: **
Los Mexicles Los Mexicles is a Mexican street gang based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. It is allied to the Sinaloa Cartel The Sinaloa Cartel ( es, link=no, Cártel de Sinaloa), also known as the CDS, the Guzmán-Loera Organization, the Pacific Cartel, ...
( U.S. street gang) ** Los Texas (street gang) (disbanded) *Government officials: Other organizations that have been involved in drug trade or traffic in Mexico (this does not necessarily apply for the whole institution): **Mexican officials: ***Municipal, state, and Federal Police forces in Mexico *** Mexican Armed Forces ( Army and Navy) ***
Mexico City International Airport Mexico City International Airport ( es, link=yes, Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México, AICM); officially ''Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez'' (Benito Juárez International Airport) is the main international airport serving ...
*** Club Xoloitzcuintles (football) **United States officials: ***
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
(FBI)
Juan García Ábrego ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...
*** Texas National Guard *** U.S. Customs and Border Protection ***United States
Immigration and Naturalization Service The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and the U.S. Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003. Referred to by some as former INS and by others as legacy INS, ...


United States

The United States of America is the world's largest consumer of cocaine and other illegal drugs. This is a list of American criminal organizations involved in illegal drug traffic, drug trade and other related crimes in the United States: * National Crime Syndicate **
Seven Group Murder, Inc. (Murder, Incorporated) was an organized crime group, active from 1929 to 1941, that acted as the enforcement arm of the National Crime Syndicatea closely connected criminal organization that included the Italian-American Mafia, the ...
** Murder, Inc.Rockaway, Robert A (2000) ''But he was good to his mother: the lives and crimes of Jewish gangsters'', Gefen Publishing House Ltd, *
Polish Mob Polish-American organized crime has existed in the United States throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Although not as well known as Italian, Irish, Russian mafias, the Polish Mob has a presence in many urban Polish American communities. Prohib ...
** Saltis-McErlane GangSifakis, Carl. ''The Mafia Encyclopedia''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ** Kielbasa Posse ** The Greenpoint Crew ** Flats Mob ** The Flathead gangKavieff, Paul (2008) ''Detroit's Infamous Purple Gang'' Arcadia Publishing, *
Prohibition-era In the United States from 1920 to 1933, a nationwide constitutional law prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, an ...
gangs ** Galveston *** Downtown Gang *** Beach Gang *** The Maceo syndicate ** Shelton Brothers GangAngle, Paul M (2991) ''Bloody Williamson: A Chapter in American Lawlessness'', University of Illinois Press, ** Sheldon Gang **
Broadway Mob The Broadway Mob was a New York bootlegging gang during Prohibition. Although headed by Joe Adonis, the gangs day-to-day operations were handled by Charles "Lucky" Luciano and Frank Costello as well as financially backed by Arnold Rothstein. Durin ...
**
The Lanzetta Brothers The Lanzetta Brothers, also known as the Lanzetti Brothers due to an incorrect spelling used by newspapers, was a group of six brothers who ran bootlegging operations in Philadelphia and possibly Atlantic City. Early lives There were six bro ...
** Circus Cafe Gang **
Wandering Family The Famiglia Vagabonda ("Wandering Family") was an American Prohibition-era criminal organization of Italian origin operating in Clarksburg and Fairmont, West Virginia. The gang was composed of Black Handers, Camorristi and Mafiosi. John C. M ...
** Remus organization *
Hispanic-American Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...
**
Marielitos The Mariel boatlift () was a mass emigration of Cubans who traveled from Cuba's Mariel Harbor to the United States between 15 April and 31 October 1980. The term "" (plural "Marielitos") is used to refer to these refugees in both Spanish and E ...
*** The Corporation
Arizona Cartel Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Four Co ...
Border Brothers Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
Paisas A Paisa is someone from a region in the northwest of Colombia, including part of the Cordillera Occidental (Colombia), West and Cordillera Central (Colombia), Central ''cordilleras'' of the Andean natural region, Andes in Colombia. The Paisa ...
Nuestra Familia *** Crips or Locs *** Bloods or B Dogs *** Surenos or SUR 13 *** Nortenos or Norte 14 ** Puerto Rican mafia *** Agosto organization ***
La ONU The Organizacion de Narcotraficantes Unidos (ONU, or La ONU) (in English: United Drug Traffickers), is a Puerto Rican criminal organization based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. It is an organization dedicated to drug dealing and unifying various well- ...
***
Martinez Familia Sangeros The Puerto Rican Mob/The Puerto Rican mafia, consists of 6 crime families, in the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico around the cities of San Juan, Carolina, Canóvanas and Loiza. The family was founded by Quitoni Martinez, José "Coquito" L ...
*** Solano organization *** Negri organization *** Márquez gambling ring ** Polanco-Rodriguez organization * Los Angeles ''(See also Rampart scandal)'' ** Nash gang ** Wonderland Gang * Dixie Mafia ** Cornbread Mafia * Greek-American organized crime ** Philadelphia Greek Mob **
Velentzas Family The Velentzas Organization, also known as the "Greek crew" is a Greek-American criminal organization operating in the New York City area.Jerry Capeci. ''Jerry Capeci's Gang Land.'' (pg.170-172) ''The Man Gotti Never Got''. October 12, 1994/ref> D ...
* Assyrian/Chaldean mafiaSalinger, Lawrence (2005) ''
Encyclopedia of White-Collar & Corporate Crime Lawrence M. Salinger (January 7, 1958 in Bono — November 23, 2013 in Jonesboro) was a professor of criminology and sociology at Arkansas State University. His research interests in criminology focused on violent victimization and organizational ...
: A - I, Volume 1'' SAGE,
* Hawaii **
The Company ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
** Leota mob * Wall gang * Elkins mob *
The Chickens and the Bulls The Chickens and the Bulls (called 'Operation Homex' by the FBI) refers to an extortion ring that preyed on prominent, closeted, gay men in the 1960s. Corrupt police officers and police impersonators known as 'Bulls' , used young often underage boys ...
* Binion mob * Johnston gang


=American Mafia

= Italian immigrants to the United States in the early 19th century formed various small-time gangs which gradually evolved into sophisticated crime syndicates which dominated organized crime in America for several decades. Although government crackdowns and a less-tightly knit Italian-American community have largely reduced their power, they remain an active force in the underworld.


=Active crime families

= *
American Mafia The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian American criminal society and organized crime group. The organization is often referred to by its membe ...
* The CommissionCapeci, Jerry (2002) ''The complete idiot's guide to the Mafia'', Alpha Books, *The Five Families of New York City ** Bonanno *** Indelicato crew *** The Motion Lounge Crew ** Colombo *** Scarpa crew ** Genovese ***
116th Street Crew The 116th Street Crew,
*** Greenwich Village Crew *** New Jersey Crew ** Gambino *** Ozone Park Boys *** DeMeo crew ***
Baltimore Crew The Baltimore Crew was an Italian American organized crime group that ultimately became a faction of the Gambino crime family operating in the port city of Baltimore, Maryland from about 1900 until the 1990s. It was originally an independent org ...
*** South Florida faction *** New Jersey faction *** The Bergin Crew *** Cherry Hill Gambinos ** Lucchese *** The Jersey Crew *** The Vario Crew *** 107th Street gang * Magaddino crime family * DeCavalcante crime family *The Chicago Outfit ''(see also
Unione Siciliane The Italian-American National Union (formerly known as Unione Siciliana) was a Sicilian-American organization, which controlled much of the Italian vote within the United States during the early twentieth century. It was based in Chicago, Illinois. ...
)'' ** Las Vegas crew (defunct) * Philadelphia crime family * Pittsburgh crime family *
Patriarca crime family The Patriarca crime family (, ), also known as the New England Mafia, the Boston Mafia, the Providence Mafia, or The Office is an Italian-American Mafia family in New England. It has two distinct factions, one based in Providence, Rhode Island, ...
** Angiulo Brothers crew * Cleveland crime family * Los Angeles crime family * Kansas City crime family * Trafficante crime family * Detroit Partnership *
Milwaukee crime family The Milwaukee Crime Family, Balistrieri Crime Family, or Milwaukee Mafia is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Peter J. Devico ''The Mafia Made Easy: The Anatomy and Culture of La Cosa Nostra.'(pg.154-156)/ref> T ...
* New Orleans crime family


=Defunct mafia families

= * Morello crime family * Genna crime family *
Porrello crime family The Cleveland crime family or Cleveland Mafia is the collective name given to a succession of Italian-American organized crime gangs based in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. A part of the Italian-American Mafia (or ''Cosa Nostra'') phenom ...
*
St. Louis crime family The St. Louis crime family,Devicopp. 197-202/ref>Dietchepp.150/ref> also known as the Giordano crime family or St. Louis Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. History Early Italian gangs ...
*
Rochester Crime Family The Rochester crime family or Rochester Mafia was a criminal organization based in Rochester, New York that was part of the American ''Cosa Nostra''. History The Rochester family's first well known official boss was Constenze "Stanley" Valent ...
*
Bufalino crime family The Bufalino crime family,''Organized Crime in Pennsylvania: Traditional and Non-Traditional''. Pennsylvania Crime Concession. April 15, 1988 also known as the Pittston crime family,Devico, Peter J. ''The Mafia Made Easy: The Anatomy and Culture o ...
*
Dallas crime family The Dallas crime family or Dallas Mafia was an Italian-American Italian-American Mafia, Mafia American Mafia crime families, crime family based in Dallas, Texas. History Carlo Piranio Carlo Piranio, a native of Sicily, immigrated to the U.S. ...
* Denver crime family * San Francisco crime family *
San Jose crime family The San Jose crime family, also known as the Cerrito crime family or San Jose Mafia, was one of the two families that controlled organized crime in San Jose, California, within the nationwide criminal organization known as the Mafia (or La Cosa ...
*
Seattle crime family The Seattle crime family, also known as the Colacurcio crime family
by Michael Ro ...
* Omaha crime family *
Licavoli Mob The Cleveland crime family or Cleveland Mafia is the collective name given to a succession of Italian-American organized crime gangs based in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. A part of the Italian-American Mafia (or ''Cosa Nostra'') phenom ...
* Cardinelli gang * New York Camorra *
East Harlem Purple Gang The East Harlem Purple Gang was a gang or organized crime group consisting of Italian-American hit-men and heroin dealers who were semi-independent from the Italian-American Mafia and, according to federal prosecutors, dominated heroin distribu ...


=

Jewish mafia Jewish-American organized crime initially emerged within the American Jewish community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It has been referred to variously in media and popular culture as the Jewish Mob, Jewish Mafia, Kosher Mob, K ...

= *New York City ** Schultz gang ** The Bugs and Meyer Mob ** Shapiro Brothers **
Yiddish Black Hand Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
** Rothstein organization ** Kaplan gang ** Rosenzweig gang *Boston ** 69th Street Gang ** Sagansky organization ** Solomon organization *Los Angeles ** Cohen crime family (mix between Jewish and Italian members) * The Purple Gang * Zwillman gang *
Kid Cann Isadore Blumenfeld (September 8, 1900 – June 21, 1981), commonly known as Kid Cann, was a Romanian Jewish-American organized crime enforcer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for over four decades. He remains the most notorious mobster in the ...
's gang * Birger mob *
Cleveland Syndicate Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...


= African-American organized crime

= *New York City ** The Council ** Harlem numbers racket ** Bumpy Johnson gang ** Supreme TeamAmerican Gangster, BET
** The Bebos ** The Country Boys ** Matthews Organization *
The Family A family is a domestic or social group. Family or The Family may also refer to: Mathematics *Family of curves, a set of curves resulting from a function with variable parameters *Family of sets, a collection of sets *Indexed family, a family wh ...
* Detroit ** Black Mafia Family ** Young Boys, Inc. **
Chambers Brothers The Chambers Brothers are an American psychedelic soul band, best known for their eleven-minute 1967 psychedelic soul hit "Time Has Come Today". The group was part of the wave of new music that integrated American blues and gospel traditions wit ...
* Philadelphia ** Black MafiaChepesiuk, Ron (2007) ''Gangsters of Harlem: the gritty underworld of New York City's most famous neighborhood'', Barricade Books, ** Junior Black Mafia * Oakland, California **
69 Mob Felix Wayne Mitchell Jr. (August 23, 1954 – August 21, 1986) was a drug lord from Oakland, California, and leader of the "69 Mob" criminal organization, which operated throughout California and into the Midwest. He was known as "Felix the Cat" ...
*
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...
** Williams organization (drug trafficking) * Washington, D.C. **
Rayful Edmond Rayful Edmond III (born November 26, 1964) is an American former drug trafficker in Washington, D.C. in the 1980s. Edmond is largely responsible for having introduced crack cocaine into the Washington, D.C. area during the crack epidemic, result ...
organization * Chicago **
Theodore Roe Theodore L. "Teddy" Roe (August 26, 1898 – August 4, 1952) was an African-American organized crime figure who led an illegal gambling empire in South Side, Chicago during the 1940s and early 1950s. Roe earned the nickname "Robin Hood" because of ...
's gambling ring ** Stokes organization *
Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
** Aso Posse * Miami ** Miami Boys * Rosemond Organization


= Irish Mob

= * Prohibition-era Chicago gangs ** North Side GangEnglish, T.J. ''Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster''. New York: HarperCollins, 2005, **
James Patrick O'Leary James Patrick O'Leary (1869 – January 22, 1925) was a gambling boss and saloon owner in Chicago. His parents were Patrick and Irish-born Catherine O'Leary, in whose barn the Great Chicago Fire is alleged to have begun. Biography O'Leary was ...
organization **
John Patrick Looney John Patrick Looney (1865–1942) was an Irish-American political fixer and Irish mob boss based in Rock Island, Illinois during the early 20th century. At the height of his power, Looney controlled most of the illegal gambling, prostituti ...
gang ** Valley Gang **
Ragen's Colts Ragen's Colts was a chiefly Irish street gang which dominated the Chicago underworld during the early twentieth century. By the late 1920s and early 1930s, the gang became part of the Chicago Outfit under Al Capone. Originally established as a ...
** Touhy gang * Boston ** Mullen Gang ** Winter Hill Gang ** Gustin Gang ** Charlestown Mob **
Killeen gang The Killeen Gang was an Irish-American Boston-based crime organization started by Donnie Killeen. At one time, the gang was led by Whitey Bulger. Along with Bulger, Billy O'Sullivan was a notable associate. The Killeen Gang eventually combined ...
* Danny Hogan's gang *
Danny Walsh Daniel L. "Danny" Walsh (c. 1893 – February 2, 1933?) was an organized crime figure in Providence, Rhode Island involved in bootlegging during Prohibition. He was the top underworld figure in southern New England, and last major Irish-Am ...
gang * Tom Dennison empire * Danny Greene's Celtic Club *
Nucky Johnson's Organization Nucky Johnson's Organization was a corrupt political machine based in Atlantic City, New Jersey that held power during the Prohibition era. Its boss, Enoch "Nucky" Johnson, coordinated the Organizations's bootlegging, gambling, racketeering, a ...
* K&A Gang * Enright gang *
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
** Dwyer gang ** The Westies ** White Hand Gang ** Higgins gang * St Louis ** Hogan Gang **
Egan's Rats Egan's Rats was an American organized crime gang that exercised considerable power in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1890 to 1924. Its 35 years of criminal activity included bootlegging, labor slugging, voter intimidation, armed robbery, and murder ...


Caribbean

* Chadee gang ( Trinidad and Tobago) *Jamaican Yardies & Posses ** Shower Posse ** POW Posse ** Tottenham Mandem *** Star Gang ** Klans Massive * No Limit Soldiers * Phantom death squad (
Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
) * Zoe Pound ( Haitian, see also Tonton Macoute) * Dominican drug cartels ** Paulino organization ** Féliz organization


South America


Brazil

*
Comando Vermelho Comando Vermelho (, ''Red Command'' or ''Red Commando''), also known as C.V. is a Brazilian criminal organization engaged primarily in drug trafficking, arms trafficking, protection racketeering, kidnappings-for-ransom, armored truck hijacking ...
*
Primeiro Comando da Capital Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC; "First Command of the Capital", , 1533) is, according to a 2012 Brazilian Government report, the largest Brazilian criminal organization, with a membership of almost 20,000 members, 6,000 of whom are in prison ...
* Terceiro Comando Puro * Terceiro Comando * Amigos dos Amigos


Bolivia

* Bolivian drug cartels ''(See also García Meza regime drug trafficking)'' **
Chapare Cartel The Chapare Drug Cartel is a Bolivian criminal organization dedicated to drug trafficking and human trafficking that operates in the Chapare region. For this, several journalists have baptized this organization simply as the Chapare Cartel During ...
**
La Corporación La Corporación ("The Corporation"), also known as the Santa Ana Cartel, was a Bolivian drug cartel and criminal organization, headed in the 1970s and 1980s by notorious drug lord Roberto Suárez Goméz, known as the "King of Cocaine". "La Corpo ...
**
Santa Cruz Cartel The Santa Cruz Cartel ( es, Cártel de Santa Cruz) is a Bolivian drug cartel and criminal organization, said to be one of the largest in the country, headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The cartel was responsible for multiple narco-terrori ...


Colombia

Colombia is the largest producer of cocaine on the planet, Cocaine production in Colombia reached an all-time high in 2017. Active Colombian Drug Cartels. *
The Black Eagles Black Eagles ( es, Águilas Negras) is a term describing a series of Colombian drug trafficking, right-wing, counter-revolutionary, paramilitary organizations made up of new and preexisting paramilitary forces, who emerged from the failures of t ...
* Clan del Golfo * Oficina de Envigado * National Liberation Army (Colombia) * FARC dissidents * Los Rastrojos Historical Colombian Drug Cartels. * Medellín Cartel * Cali Cartel * Norte del Valle Cartel *
North Coast Cartel The North Coast Cartel ( es, Cartel de la Costa or Cartel de la Costa Atlántica) was a drug cartel operating in northern Colombia between in 1980 and 2010, mostly controlling the area of the Colombian Caribbean coast illegal drug trade flow fro ...
* United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia * Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia


Peru

* Peruvian drug cartels ''(see also Vladimiro Montesinos)'' ** Zevallos organisation


Venezuela

Historically Venezuela has been a path to the United States for illegal drugs originating in Colombia, through Central America and Mexico and Caribbean countries such as
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. According to the United Nations, there has been an increase of cocaine trafficking through Venezuela since 2002. In 2005, Venezuela severed ties with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), accusing its representatives of spying. Following the departure of the DEA from Venezuela and the expansion of DEA's partnership with Colombia in 2005, Venezuela became more attractive to drug traffickers. Between 2008 and 2012, Venezuela's cocaine seizure ranking among other countries declined, going from being ranked fourth in the world for cocaine seizures in 2008United Nations
World Drug Report 2010 Statistical Annex: Drug seizures
to sixth in the world in 2012. The cartel groups involved include: * The Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia clan moved to Venezuela,Tom Blickman (1997),
The Rothschilds of the Mafia on Aruba
", ''Transnational Organized Crime'', Vol. 3, No. 2, Summer 1997
which became an important hideout as the clan bought hotels and founded various businesses in Caracas and Valencia, as well as an extended ranch in Barinas, near the Colombian border. ''"Venezuela has its own Cosa Nostra family as if it is Sicilian territory,"'' according to the Italian police. ''"The structure and hierarchy of the Mafia has been entirely reproduced in Venezuela."'' The Cuntrera-Caruana clan had direct links with the ruling Commission of the Sicilian Mafia, and are acknowledged by the American Cosa Nostra. Pasquale, Paolo and Gaspare Cuntrera were expelled from Venezuela in 1992, "almost secretly smuggled out of the country, as if it concerned one of their own drug transports. It was imperative they could not contact people on the outside who could have used their political connections to stop the expulsion." Their expulsion was ordered by a commission of the Venezuelan Senate headed by Senator Cristobal Fernandez Dalo and his money laundering investigator,
Thor Halvorssen Hellum Thor Halvorssen Hellum (, locally , May 16, 1943 – July 20, 2014) was a Venezuelan-Norwegian businessman who served as CEO and President of the Venezuelan state-owned telephone company, CANTV and later as Special Commissioner for International ...
. They were arrested in September 1992 at Fiumicino airport (Rome), Fonzi, Gaeton.
The Troublemaker
". '' The Pennsylvania Gazette'' (November 1994).
and in 1996 were sentenced to 13–20 years. * Norte del Valle Cartel : In 2008 the leader of the Colombian Norte del Valle Cartel, Wilber Varela, was found murdered in a hotel in Mérida in Venezuela. In 2010, Venezuela arrested and deported to the United States Jaime Alberto "Beto" Marin, then head of the Norte del Valle Cartel.''
Venezuelanalysis.com Venezuelanalysis is a pro-Bolivarian Revolution website Also available aZnet./ref> that describes itself as "an independent website produced by individuals who are dedicated to disseminating news and analysis about the current political situation ...
'', 20 September 2010
Venezuela Deports Two Drug Kingpins, Calls US Drug Blacklist "Abusive and Interventionist"
* The Cartel of the Suns According to
Jackson Diehl Jackson Diehl (born 1956) was the deputy editorial page editor of ''The Washington Post'' from February, 2001 to August, 2021. He was part of the ''Washington Post'' team that won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service. He wrote many of the p ...
. Deputy Editorial Page Editor of '' The Washington Post'', the Bolivarian government of Venezuela shelters "one of the world’s biggest drug cartels". There have also been allegations that former president
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
and Diosdado Cabello being involved with drug trafficking. In May 2015, '' The Wall Street Journal'' reported from United States officials that drug trafficking in Venezuela increased significantly with Colombian drug traffickers moving from Colombia to Venezuela due to pressure from law enforcement. One United States Department of Justice official described the higher ranks of the Venezuelan government and military as "a criminal organization", with high ranking Venezuelan officials, such as National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello, being accused of drug trafficking. Those involved with investigations stated that Venezuelan government defectors and former traffickers had given information to investigators and that details of those involved in government drug trafficking were increasing.


Central America


Honduras

* Honduran drug cartels ** Matta organization ** Cachiros


El Salvador

* Mara Salvatrucha


Nicaragua

* Nicaraguan drug cartels ''(see also
Contras The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua, which came to power in 1979 fol ...
)'' **
Oscar Danilo Blandón Oscar Danilo Blandón Reyes (born July 29, 1951) is a Nicaraguan born drug trafficker who is best known as one of the main subjects of the 1996 newspaper series "Dark Alliance" by reporter Gary Webb. Blandón was originally a director of agricultu ...


Asia


East Asia


Korea

* Korean criminal organizations ''(see also
North Korea's illicit activities The alleged illicit activities of the North Korean state include manufacture and sale of illegal drugs, the manufacture and sale of counterfeit consumer goods, human trafficking, arms trafficking, wildlife trafficking, counterfeiting currency ( ...
)''


Japan


= Japanese criminal organizations

= ''See also Kenji Doihara's criminal activities'' The yakuza of Japan are similar to the Italian mafias in that they originated centuries ago and follow a rigid set of traditions, but have several aspects that make them unique, such as their full-body tattoos and their fairly open place in Japanese society. Many yakuza groups are umbrella organizations, smaller gangs reporting to a larger crime syndicate.


Active yakuza groups

* Roku-daime Yamaguchi-gumi 六代目山口組Kaplan, David E. & Dubro, Alec (2003) ''Yakuza: Japan's criminal underworld'', University of California Press, ** Yon-daime Yamaken-gumi 四代目山健組 ** Ni-daime Kodo-kai 二代目弘道会 ** Ni-daime Takumi-gumi 二代目宅見組 ** Go-daime Kokusui-kai 五代目國粹会 * Inagawa-kai 稲川会 *
Sumiyoshi-kai The , sometimes referred to as the , is the second-largest yakuza group in Japan with an estimated 4,000 members. Outline Their territories mainly consist of upscale districts such as Kabukichō and Ginza. Shops operating in these territories ...
住吉会 **
Sumiyoshi-ikka The Sumiyoshi-ikka (住吉一家 "Sumiyoshi Family") is an affiliate of the Sumiyoshi-kai yakuza syndicate, based in Tokyo, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...
Shinwa-kai The is a yakuza group based in Takamatsu, Kagawa on Shikoku, Japan.
住吉一家親和会 *** Kansuke Juni-daime 勘助十二代目 *
Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi The is a yakuza organization based in Hyogo, Japan. Overview The Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza organization includes Kobe-based Yamaken-gumi, Osaka-based Takumi-gumi, and Kyoyu-kai. They broke away from The Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi in 2015 and for ...
* Matsuba-kai 松葉会 * Kyokuto-kai 極東会 * Dojin-kai 道仁会 ** Kitamura-gumi * Yon-daime Kudo-kai 四代目工藤會 * Roku-daime Aizu-Kotetsu-kai 六代目会津小鉄会 *
Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...
沖縄旭琉会 *
Kyushu Seido-kai The was a yakuza organization based in Fukuoka Prefecture on the Kyushu island of Japan, with an estimated 380 active members.
九州誠道会 * Go-daime Kyosei-kai 五代目共政会 * San-daime Fukuhaku-kai 三代目福博会 * Soai-kai 双愛会 * Yon-daime Kyokuryu-kai 四代目旭琉会 * San-daime Kyodo-kai 三代目俠道会 * Taishu-kai 太州会 * Shichi-daime Goda-ikka 七代目合田一家 * Toa-kai 東亜会 * Ni-daime Azuma-gumi 二代目東組 * Yon-daime Asano-gumi 四代目浅野組 * Hachi-daime Sakaume-gumi 八代目酒梅組 * Yon-daime Kozakura-ikka 四代目小桜一家 * Ni-daime Shinwa-kai 二代目親和会


Defunct yakuza groups

* Kantō-kai 関東会 * Ni-daime Honda-kai 二代目本多会 * Yamaguchi-gumi **
Goto-gumi The was a Japanese yakuza organization founded by Tadamasa Goto. History The gang was originally formed in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, but moved its activities east in 1991 when it merged with a gang in Hachiōji, Tokyo. The Goto-gumi, as an ...
後藤組 **
Suishin-kai The Suishin-kai was a Japanese yakuza gang based in Nagasaki. The gang, affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza syndicate, came to prominence in April 2007 when its former underboss (then demoted to Captain), Tetsuya Shiroo, s ...
水心会 * Ichiwa-kai 一和会 * San-daime Yamano-kai 三代目山野会 *
Nakano-kai The Nakano-kai (中野会) was a notorious Osaka-based yakuza gang, founded by Nakano Taro, Taro Nakano (born October 30, 1936 in Oita Prefecture, Oita) in the years after World War II, World War 2. The Nakano-kai was known for its fierce bellicos ...
中野会 * Kyokuto Sakurai-soke-rengokai 極東桜井總家連合会


East Asia

The Triads is a popular name for a number of Chinese criminal secret societies, which have existed in various forms over the centuries (see for example Tiandihui). However, not all Chinese gangs fall into line with these traditional groups, as many non-traditional criminal organizations have formed, both in China and the Chinese diaspora. * Hong Kong-based Triads ** 14K Group 十四K **
Wo Group Wo Shing Wo or WSW () is the oldest of the Wo Group triad societies, and is the triad with the longest history in Hong Kong. According to the Hong Kong police, the triad is involved in extortion, drug trafficking, gambling and prostitution.
和字頭 ***
Wo Shing Wo Wo Shing Wo or WSW () is the oldest of the Wo Group triad societies, and is the triad with the longest history in Hong Kong. According to the Hong Kong police, the triad is involved in extortion, drug trafficking, gambling and prostitution.
和勝和 *** Wo On Lok (Shui Fong) 和安樂(水房) ***
Wo Hop To Wo Hop To, or WHT (和合圖), is a triad group based in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. The name translates to "Harmoniously United Association", or "Harmonious Union Plan", and is thought to have been founded in 1908 in Sai Ying Pun as a secret politic ...
和合圖(老和) ** Sun Yee On 新義安(老新) **
Luen Group Luen group is one of several organized crime groups of Hong Kong, known as triads. The membership of the group exceeds 8,000 and is made up of several subgroups. These include Luen Lok Tong, Luen Tei Ying, Luen To Ying, Luen Ying She, and Luen Kun ...
聯字頭 ** Big Circle Gang 大圈 * Sio Sam Ong (小三王) *
Chinese-American gangs Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...
''(See also Tongs)'' ** Wah Ching 華青 ** Ping On **
Black Dragons ''Black Dragons'' is a 1942 American film directed by William Nigh and starring Bela Lugosi, Joan Barclay, and George Pembroke. The cast includes Clayton Moore, who plays a handsome detective. The Black Dragon Society also appears in '' Let's G ...
黑龍 **
Jackson Street Boys The Jackson Boyz, JBZ or Jackson Street Boys, JSB are or were a San Francisco, California based Asian American street gang and criminal organization The gang, composed of Cantonese and Vietnamese members, has been centered in San Francisco's China ...
積臣街小子 * Taiwan-based Triads **
United Bamboo Gang The United Bamboo Gang (UBG; ; Bamboo Union triad) is the largest of Taiwan's three main criminal Triads. They are reported to have roughly 10,000 members. The membership consists largely of '' waishengren'' (Mainland Chinese) and has had hist ...
竹聯幫 ** Four Seas Gang 四海幫 ** Celestial Alliance * Mainland Chinese crime groups ''(see also
Hanlong Group Hanlong Group (汉龙集团) is a Chinese conglomerate with holdings in solar energy, communications, chemicals, mineral exploration, and other industries. Sichuan Hongda (四川宏達; ) is a mining company and subsidiary of Hanlong listed on the ...
)'' ** Chongqing group 重慶組 ** Defunct *** Honghuzi gangs *** Green Gang 青帮 *
Triad Triad or triade may refer to: * a group of three Businesses and organisations * Triad (American fraternities), certain historic groupings of seminal college fraternities in North America * Triad (organized crime), a Chinese transnational orga ...
s in Cholon **Wu Bang


Southeast Asia

* Golden TriangleBooth, Martin (2000) ''The dragon syndicates: the global phenomenon of the Triads'' Basic Books, ** Burmese drug cartels'' (see also Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army)'' *** Khun Sa cartelChepesiuk, Ron (1999) ''The war on drugs: an international encyclopedia'', ABC-CLIO, ''(see also Mong Tai Army)'' *** Red Wa ''(see also United Wa State Army and National Democratic Alliance Army)'' *** Hawngleuk Militia *** Han cartel ** Laotian drug cartels ''(see also Ouane Rattikone)'' *
Chao pho ''Jao por'' ( Thai: เจ้าพ่อ, “godfather”) is a term used in Thailand to describe Thai organized crime groups. Meaning of the term ''Chao pho'' or ''jao poh'' literally means “godfather.” Chao pho, mostly based in the provinces ...
** Red Wa * Filipino crime gangs ''(See also Abu Sayyaf and New People's Army)'' *** Kuratong Baleleng ***
Waray-Waray gangs Waray-Waray gangs (also known as Waray-Waray groups) are generic terms used in the Philippines to denote of criminal groups who are of Waray people, Waray ethnicity. They originated from provinces Leyte and Samar where the majority are of Waray ...
October 10, 2018 *** Bahala Na Gang *** Sigue Sigue Sputnik *** Defunct **** Putik gang * Cambodian crime gangs ** Teng Bunma organization * Malaysian crime gangs **
Mamak Gang The Mamak Gang is a notorious Malaysian gang that has been active since the early 1990s. Originally they specialised in breaking into factories and warehouses, but eventually they switched to mainly carjacking and robbing motorists. The gang is most ...
* Secret societies in Singapore ** Ang Soon Tong昂很快塘 ** Ghee Hin Kongsi 酥油軒懸空寺 ** Hai San 海新 ** Wah Kee 華記 ** Ah Kong 新加坡黑手黨


Vietnamese Xã Hội Đen

*
Bình Xuyên Binh Xuyen Force ( vi, Bộ đội Bình Xuyên, ), often linked to its infamous leader, General Lê Văn Viễn (a.k.a. "Bảy Viễn"), was an independent military force within the Vietnamese National Army whose leaders once had lived outside t ...
* Đại Cathay's mafia during the 60s *
Năm Cam Trương Văn Cam, known by the sobriquet Năm Cam (April 22, 1947 – June 3, 2004) was a notorious Vietnamese mobster who is often called the "Godfather" of Vietnam. Known for building and running a criminal enterprise revolving around ga ...
's mafia of the 90s *
Khánh Trắng Khánh Trắng (literally translated as "White Khanh") was the President of Dong Xuan Labor Union. However, it was just a screen for his mafia-like organization in the underworld of Hanoi during the late 1990s. Described as a cold-blooded assassin ...
's "Đồng Xuân Labor Union", a crime syndicate under the guise of a legal entity *
Dung Hà Vũ Thị Hoàng Dung (better known by her nickname Dung Hà; 1965October 2, 2000) was a Vietnamese female gangster. Born and raised in Haiphong Haiphong ( vi, Hải Phòng, ), or Hải Phòng, is a major industrial city and the third-largest i ...
's gang *Vũ Xuân Trường's gang: a crime syndicate led by Vũ Xuân Trường, a government official and also a drug lord.


South Asia

* Indian mafia ''(See also Insurgency in Northeast India)'' ** Mumbai *** D-Company डी कंपनी *** Chhota Rajan gang राजन गिरोह *** Gawli gang गवली गिरोह *** Bada Rajan gang *** Surve gang *** Mudaliar gang *** Mastan gang *** Budesh gang *** Kalani gang ** Pathan mafia *** Lala gang ** Uttar Pradesh *** Ansari gang *** Yadav gang ** Bangalore *** Rai gang *** Ramachandra gang *** Jayaraj gang **
Kala Kaccha Gang Kala Kachcha gang (also known as Kale-Kachchewale or Kale Kachche gang) refers to certain organized criminal gangs in Punjab, India. The Kala Kachcha gang members are robbers and dacoits, who don police uniform or 'Kale Kachche' (black underpants ...
** Chaddi Baniyan Gang * Sri Lankan criminal groups * Pakistani mafia ''(See also Peoples' Aman Committee, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Muttahida Qaumi Movement and ISI involvement with drugs)'' **
Chotu gang Chotu gang was a Pakistani gang that engaged in kidnapping, murder and other criminal activities led by Ghulam Rasool who goes by the alias, "Chotu." The gang was based in the Kacha area of Rajanpur. This gang was involved in many crimes in areas ...
** Lyari Gang * Mafia Raj * Dacoit gangs ** Singh gang ** Veerappan gang ** Devi gang


Middle East

* Israeli mafia ''(see also Stern Gang)'' ** Abergil Crime Family משפחת הפשע אברג'יל ** Alperon crime family משפחת הפשע אלפרון **
Zeev Rosenstein Zeev Rosenstein ( he, זאב רוזנשטיין; born 1954) is an infamous Israeli drug trafficker. Rosenstein was born in Jaffa to immigrant parents, a Romanian Jewish father and a Mountain Jewish mother. He never completed high school, and inst ...
organization ארגון זאב רוזנשטיין ** Palestinian organized crime ''(See also Abu Nidal Organization)'' ***
Doghmush The Doghmush ( ar, دغمش, pronounced "Doe-moosh" or "Durmush", ''see spelling'') are a Palestinian family from the Gaza Strip. Johnston kidnapping The family became known internationally in 2007 as they proclaimed themselves as the ''Jaysh al-I ...
clan * Turkish mafia ** Crime groups in Turkey ''(see also Deep state and
Yüksekova Gang The Yüksekova Gang was an illegal organization in the Yüksekova district of Hakkari Province accused of killing 16 people, with apparent links to the Turkish Gendarmerie's JITEM unit and possible links to the Ergenekon organization. According ...
)'' *** Kılıç gang *** Çakıcı gang *** Yaprak Family *** Topal organisation ***
Söylemez Gang The Söylemez Gang was an organized crime organization in Turkey headed by Faysal Söylemez and five of his brothers, which was involved in drug smuggling, kidnapping, and murder. Its activities were first revealed in 1996, with the arrest of 25 ...
**Kurdish clans ''(see also Kurdistan Workers' Party#Involvement in drug trafficking)'' *** Baybaşin clan *** Cantürk crime family **
Turkish organised crime in Great Britain {{Unreferenced, date=July 2022 Turkish organised crime in Great Britain has been prevalent in the country since the early 90s when the Arifs (gang), Arifs controlled London's underworld for a brief time. Since the fall of the Taliban during the War ...
*** Arifs ** Turkish organised crime in Germany *** Arabacı clan ** İmaç clan (Netherlands) * Iranian organized crime ''(see also Jundallah and illegal activities of the IRGC)'' ** Tahvili crime family *
Lebanese mafia Lebanese mafia is a colloquial term for organized crime groups which origin from Lebanon and Levant. Lebanese organized crime is active in the country of Lebanon itself, as well as in countries and areas with a large Arab community, most notably ...
''(See also Lebanese Civil War militias)'' **Arab crime clans ***
Miri-Clan The Miri Family is an Lebanese Arab criminal organisation based in Europe. The clan consists of over 30 extended families who arrived in Germany in the 1980s as refugees from Lebanon. They are particularly prominent in Bremen, where they have aro ...
***
Al-Zein Clan The Al-Zein-Family (also known as the Al-Zein-clan) is an Arab-Lebanese Lebanese mafia, mafia-family based in Europe. They have 3000 members in Germany. Members of the family in Germany and Sweden are known for their involvement in criminal act ...
** Ibrahim clan


Afghanistan

* Golden Crescent ** Afridi Network ** Afghan drug cartelsGlenny, Misha (2009) ''McMafia'', Vintage Books, ''(see also Taliban)'' *** Noorzai Organization *** Khan organization *** Karzai organization (alleged) *** Bagcho organization


Central Asia

* Uzbek mafia ''(See also Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan)'' ** Rakhimov organization * Kyrgyz mafia ** Erkinbayev group ** Akmatbayev group ** Kolbayev group


Eurasia


Russia

Although organized crime existed in the Soviet era, the gangs really gained in power and international reach during the transition to capitalism. The term
Russian Mafia Russian organized crime or Russian mafia (, ), otherwise known as Bratva (), is a collective of various organized crime elements originating in the former Soviet Union. The initialism OPG is Organized Criminal (''prestupnaya'' in Russian) Gr ...
, 'mafiya' or mob is a blanket (and somewhat inaccurate) term for the various organized crime groups that emerged in this period from the 15 former republics of the USSR and unlike their Italian counterparts does not mean members are necessarily of Russian ethnicity or uphold any ancient criminal traditions, although this is the case for some members. * Russian-Jewish mafia ** Brighton Beach *** Agron gang *** Nayfeld gang *** Balagula gang ** Mogilevich organization * Brothers' Circle (Existence is debatable) *
Russian mafia Russian organized crime or Russian mafia (, ), otherwise known as Bratva (), is a collective of various organized crime elements originating in the former Soviet Union. The initialism OPG is Organized Criminal (''prestupnaya'' in Russian) Gr ...
''(See also Lubyanka Criminal Group, Three Whales Corruption Scandal and Sergei Magnitsky)'' **Moscow *** Izmaylovskaya gang *** Solntsevskaya bratvaVarese, Frederico (2005) ''The Russian mafia: private protection in a new market economy'', Oxford University Press, **** New York branch *** Orekhovskaya gang **
St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
'' (See also Baltik-Eskort)'' *** Tambov Gang ** Togliatti mafia **
Uralmash gang The Uralmash gang (russian: Уралмашевская группировка) was a Russian mafia crime syndicate based in the city of Yekaterinburg. Founded in the late 1980s by a group of former athletes led by the Tsyganov brothers, the grou ...
** Lazovsky gang ** Vladivostok gang ** Kurganskaya group ** Tsapok gang ** 'Elephants' group ** Kazan gang


Caucasus

''See also Caucasus Emirate'' * Georgian mafia ''(See also Mkhedrioni and Forest Brothers)'' ** Kutaisi clan ** Tbilisi clan ** 21st Century Association *
Armenian mafia The Armenian mafia ( hy, Հայկական մաֆիա) is a general term for organized criminal gangs that consist of ethnic Armenians. In Armenia, the structure is organized in clans called ''akhperutyuns'' (եղբայրություններ, brot ...
CBS News/Associated Press - Armenian Organized Crime Grows More Complex
/ref> ** Mirzoyan-Terdjanian organization ** Armenian Power *
Azeri mafia The Azerbaijani mafia is a general term for organized criminal gangs, mostly based in Moscow and other major Russia cities like Saint Petersburg, that consist of ethnic Azerbaijanis. Outside of Russia they are active in most former Soviet states ...
** Janiev organization * Chechen mafia ''(See also Special Purpose Islamic Regiment and Kadyrovtsy)'' ** Obschina ** Labazanov gang


Europe


Sweden

* Original Gangsters *
Fucked For Life Fucked For Life (FFL) is a criminal network in Sweden, probably founded by Daniel Maiorana (born ). At the core of the network are 12 men, some of whom have "FFL" tattooed on their arms or neck. History The gang was initially named "Tumba Lords ...
*
Uppsalamaffian Bo Stefan M. Eriksson (born December 14, 1961) is a Swedish video game developer and criminal from Uppsala involved in the British gaming company Gizmondo with his business partner Carl Freer, until it became insolvent in 2005. In February 2006, ...
* Chosen Ones *
Werewolf Legion In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...
*
Asir The ʿAsir Region ( ar, عَسِيرٌ, ʿAsīr, lit=difficult) is a region of Saudi Arabia located in the southwest of the country that is named after the ʿAsīr tribe. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,211,875 (2017). It is ...
* Vårvädersligan


Netherlands

*
Organized crime in the Netherlands Organized crime in the Netherlands, sometimes called penose (Dutch: ''penoze'') is the organised criminal underbelly in Amsterdam and other major cities. Penose usually means the organizations formed by criminals of Dutch descent. It is a slang ...
** Bruinsma drug gang ** Holleeder gang ** Moroccan mafia


France

* French Milieu ''(See also Service d'Action Civique)'' ** Corsican mafiaGayraud, Jean-François (2009) ''Showbiz, people et corruption'', Odile Jacob, ''(see also National Liberation Front of Corsica)'' *** Unione Corse *** Brise de Mer gang ** Les Caïds Des Cités *** Faïd gang *** The Barbarians ** Wigs gang ** North African Brigade ''(see also Carlingue)'' ** Tractions Avant gang ** Bande des Trois Canards ** French gypsy gangs ***
Hornec gang The Hornec brothers gang, also called "the H" or "the Montreuil gang", is a Gitanes criminal group from the region of Paris. It is the most influential gang in the French capital. They control many criminal activities (racket, drug dealing, i ...


Greece

* Greek mafia


Ireland

*Ireland ** Dublin *** Cahill gangNewton, Michael (2007) ''Gangsters Encyclopedia'', Anova Books, *** Gilligan gang *** Foley gang *** Hyland gang *** Dunne gang *** The Westies ** Limerick ***
McCarthy-Dundon The McCarthy-Dundon's is a criminal gang based in Limerick City, Ireland. Their main base is Ballinacurra Weston on Limerick's southside but they also have a strong presence in Southill and in the northside suburb of Moyross. The gang, involved in ...
***
Keane-Collopy The Keane-Collopy gang is a criminal organisation based in Limerick City, Ireland. Its members are major suppliers of drugs in the Mid-West region and have been heavily involved in the Limerick feud since 2000, when an attempt was made on the lif ...
** Rathkeale Rovers **
Kinahan Organised Crime Group The Kinahan Organised Crime Group (KOCG), also known as the Kinahan Cartel, is a major Irish transnational organised crime syndicate alleged to be the most powerful in Ireland and one of the largest organised crime groups in the world. It is als ...


Spain

* Spain ''(see also ETA)'' ** Galician mafia **
Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
clans *** El Clan De La Paca


Poland

* Poland ''(See also Group 13)'' ** Pruszków mafia **
Wołomin mafia Wołomin is the main town of Wołomin County situated in the Masovian Voivodship. Wołomin is situated approximately east of Warsaw, the capital of Poland, near the railway to Białystok. It has approximately 36,000 inhabitants and covers an ar ...


Slovakia

*
Slovak mafia The Slovak mafia constitutes various organized crime groups in Slovakia, controlled primarily by Slovak interests. The Slovak mafia does not have significant international presence and, even in Slovakia, their activities are limited by boundaries ...
** Hungaro-Slovak mafia


Hungary

* Raffael clan * Sztojka clan


Czech Republic

** Mrázek organization ** Krejčíř organization


Italy

*
Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily a ...
** Sicilian Mafia Commission **
Mandamenti Within Cosa Nostra a mandamento is traditionally a district of three geographically contiguous Mafia cosche (families controlling a single land feud, or a city ward) in Sicily. A capomandamento represents the head of a territory, the mandamento, ...
***''See also
List of Sicilian Mafia clans Clans in the Sicilian Mafia are united under a ''Mandamento'', led by a ''Capo madamento'', that represents the clans' bosses to the ''Cupola''. In Sicily, there are 94 Mafia families subject to 29 mandamenti.Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia clan ***
Inzerillo Mafia clan The Inzerillo Mafia clan () is a Sicilian Mafia clan, formerly among the most powerful in Sicily, for at least half a century they were considered the "aristocracy of Palermo's mafia". The Inzerillo family was associated with the former Americ ...
***
Corleonesi The Corleonesi Mafia clan was a faction within the Corleone family of the Sicilian Mafia, formed in the 1970s. Notable leaders included Luciano Leggio, Salvatore Riina, Bernardo Provenzano, and Leoluca Bagarella. Corleonesi affiliates were n ...
*** Greco Mafia clan ***
Motisi Mafia clan The Motisi Mafia clan (, ) is a historical Sicilian Mafia clan from the Pagliarelli area in Palermo. The Motisi clan is one of the oldest Mafia clans in Palermo, and a Motisi was mentioned in 1937 as the Mafia boss of Pagliarelli by Melchiorre All ...
*
'Ndrangheta The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a prominent Italian Mafia-type organized crime syndicate and secret society, criminal society based in the peninsular and mountainous region of Calabria and dating back to the late 18th century. It is considered one of ...
* La Provincia **''See also List of 'ndrine'' ** Honoured Society ( Melbourne) **
Mammoliti 'ndrina The Mammoliti 'ndrina () is a powerful clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Castellace and Oppido Mamertina in the plain of Gioia Tauro in southern Calabria on the Tyrrhenia ...
**
Bellocco 'ndrina The Bellocco 'ndrina is a clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Rosarno, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tyrrhenian coast, and belongs to the ''Locale ('Ndrangheta), locale'' of that tow ...
**
Cataldo 'ndrina The Cataldo 'ndrina is a clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. This particular 'ndrina is based in Locri, a hotbed of 'Ndrangheta activity. The clan allied, with the Marafioti family, is involved in a ...
** Commisso 'ndrina **
Cordì 'ndrina The Cordì 'ndrina is a clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Locri, a hotbed of 'Ndrangheta activity. Feud with Cataldo clan The historical boss of the clan, Domenico Cordì ...
**
De Stefano 'ndrina The De Stefano 'ndrina, or the De Stefano family or De Stefano-Tegano family, is one of the most powerful clans of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina hailed from the Archi neighbourhood in Reg ...
** Pesce 'ndrina ** Barbaro 'ndrina **
Piromalli 'ndrina The Piromalli 'ndrina is one of the most powerful clans of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Gioia Tauro on the Tyrrhenian coast. The Piromalli's are allied with their relatives of ...
**
Serraino 'ndrina The Serraino 'ndrina (also known as Serraino-Di Giovine 'ndrina) is a clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Cardeto, about 10 km southeast of the city of Reggio Calabria. Th ...
** Siderno Group *
Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...
Roberto Saviano (2006) ''Gomorrah: Italy's Other Mafia'', Mondadori, . **
Secondigliano Alliance The Secondigliano Alliance ( Italian: Alleanza di Secondigliano) is a strategic alliance of Camorra clans in Naples, Italy and its hinterland which controls drug trafficking and the extortion racket in many areas of Naples since the 1990s. The Alli ...
***
Licciardi clan The Licciardi clan () is a powerful Neapolitan Camorra clan that operates in the remote areas of Naples, specifically in the Secondigliano district and its stronghold of Masseria Cardone. Its sphere of influence extends to Scampia, Chiaiano, Mia ...
*** Contini clan ***
Lo Russo clan The Lo Russo clan was a Neapolitan Camorra clan operating on its territory within the city of Naples, concentrated specifically in the area of Miano, whose control extended throughout numerous neighborhoods in the north of the city for more than ...
*** Mallardo clan ** Di Lauro Clan ** Casalesi clan ** Fabbrocino clan **
Vollaro clan The Vollaro clan is a Neapolitan Camorra clan operating in the area east of Naples, more specifically in the town of Portici and San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, a small village in the Vesuvius area. History The Vollaro clan was founded in the mid-seve ...
**
Scissionisti di Secondigliano The Scissionisti di Secondigliano or Amato-Pagano clan is a Camorra clan from the Secondigliano district of Naples, headed by Raffaele Amato and Cesare Pagano. They are also known as ''"Spagnoli"'' (Spaniards) because of their strong presence in ...
**
La Torre clan LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
** Polverino clan **
Rinaldi clan The Rinaldi clan is a Camorra clan operating in the area of San Giovanni a Teduccio, in the eastern area of the city of Naples. Since 2019 the clan has formed an alliance with the Ponticelli's De Luca Bossa clan, and Barra's Aprea-Cuccaro clan, cal ...
** De Luca Bossa clan ** Aprea-Cuccaro clan ** Cesarano clan ** Puca clan *
Sacra Corona Unita Sacra Corona Unita (, ; acronym: SCU) also known as fourth mafia is a Mafia-type criminal organization and criminal society from the Apulia region in Southern Italy, and it is especially active in the areas of Brindisi, Lecce, and Taranto. Ori ...
* Società foggiana * Stidda * Mala del Brenta * Banda della Magliana *
Mafia Capitale The Mafia Capitale is the name given to an organized crime organization and subsequent investigation involving the government of the city of Rome, in which members stole money destined for city services and carried out other criminal activities su ...
* Sinti Casamonica clan *Clan Spada di
Ostia Ostia may refer to: Places *Ostia (Rome), a municipio (also called ''Ostia Lido'' or ''Lido di Ostia'') of Rome *Ostia Antica, a township and port of ancient Rome *Ostia Antica (district), a district of the commune of Rome Arts and entertainment ...
* Milanese gangs **
Banda della Comasina La Banda della Comasina (; "Gang of the Comasina") is the name which the Italian media used to describe a criminal group active in the 1970s in robberies, kidnappings and weapons trafficking in the northern area of Milan: the Comasina. The area of ...
** Turatello crew


Balkans

Balkan organized crime gained prominence in the chaos following the communist era, notably the transition to capitalism and the wars in former Yugoslavia. * Albanian mafia ** Kosovan mafia ** Albania *** Gang of Çole ***
Gang of Gaxhai Gang of Gaxhai () was a criminal group created in March 1997 that operated in the city of Vlora during 1997 when anarchy reigned in the South. Its criminal activity peaked during the period March–June 1997. The gang was established by Gazmend ...
*** Gang of Pusi i Mezinit *** Lazarat marijuana growers ** Rudaj Organization (New York City) ** Gang of Ismail Lika ** Dobroshi gang (International) ** NaserliganDagens Nyheter - Ligorna har kopplat greppet om Sverige
(Swedish)
(Sweden) ** K-Falangen (Sweden) * Bosnian mafia ** Prazina gangSiegel, Dina (2003) ''Global organized crime: trends and developments'', Springer, ** Bajramović gang ** Delalić gang ** M-Falangen (Sweden) * Bulgarian mafia ''(see also Multigroup)'' ** VIS ** SIC ** Karamanski gang ** TIM ** Naglite ** Rashkov clan * Serbian mafia ** Arkan clan ** Zemun Clan **
Joca Amsterdam Joca may refer to: Footballers * Joca (footballer, born 1981), full name Ricardo Jorge da Silva Pinto Pereira, Portuguese former football midfielder * Joca (footballer, born 1995), full name João Carlos Almeida Leandro, Portuguese football defende ...
gang ** Magaš clan ** Giška gang ** Pink Panthers **
Serb mafia in Scandinavia The Serbian mafia in Scandinavia, also known as "Juggemaffian" ("Yugo Mafia") is an organized crime group in Sweden and Denmark. The foundations of the gang began during the mass immigration of Yugoslav guest-workers to Sweden in the 1970s. Its p ...
*** Kotur mob *** Yugoslav Brotherhood * Montenegrin mafia ''(see also allegations of Milo Đukanović's involvement in cigarette smuggling)'' *
Macedonian mafia The Macedonian mafia ( mk, Македонска мафија, translit=Makedonska mafija) is the body of illegal gangs and criminal organisations operating in North Macedonia and within the Macedonian diaspora. The organizations are primarily ...
**
Frankfurt mafia The Frankfurt mafia was a crime group from Veles, Macedonia that was involved in the heroin trade in Frankfurt, Germany and Vienna, Austria. It was part of the Macedonian mafia. International activity Germany Boris Rhein, Hessen's Interior Mi ...
**Bajrush klan **Nezim klan' * Romanian mafia ** Băhăian organisation


Great Britain

* London ** Adams crime family ** The Richardson GangMorton, James ''Gangland Volume 2: The Underworld in Britain and Ireland'', 1995, **Kray Twins, The Firm **Bernie Silver, The Syndicate **Jack Comer, Comer gang **Lee Murray, Buttmarsh Boys **Interwar unemployment and poverty in the United Kingdom, Interwar era mobs ***Messina Brothers ***Sabini syndicateThomas, Donald (2006) ''Villains' paradise: a history of Britain's underworld'', Pegasus Books, ***Hoxton Gang ***Elephant and Castle Mob ***Birmingham Boys *Rettendon murders, Essex Boys *Gun crime in south Manchester, Manchester **Quality Street Gang **Desmond Noonan, Noonan firm **Cheetham Hillbillies **The Gooch Close Gang *Crime in Liverpool, Liverpool **Curtis Warren, Curtis Warren's drug empire **Whitney gang *Aggi Crew *British firms (organized crime)#Glasgow crime families, Glasgow **Thomas McGraw, McGraw firm **Arthur Thompson (gangster), Thompson firm **Walter Douglas, Delta Crime Syndicate *Brighton razor gangs *Bestwood Estate#Recent years, Bestwood Cartel


Ukraine

*Ukrainian mafia **Akhat Bragin, Donetsk Clan **Sergey Aksyonov#Alleged links to organized crime, Salem gang


Lithuania

*Foreign relations of Lithuania#Illicit drug trafficking, Lithuanian mafia **Boris Dekanidze, Vilnius Brigade


Estonia

*Estonian mafia/Obtshak **Toomas Helin, Linnuvabriku group


Transnistria

*Mafia state#Transnistria, Transnistrian mafia


Australia

*Crime in Sydney, Sydney **5T (gang), 5T gangSmall, Clive & Gilling, Tom (2010) ''Smack Express: How Organized Crime Got Hooked on Drugs'', Allen & Unwin, (1985–1999) **George Freeman (bookmaker), Freeman gang (defunct) **Lenny McPherson, Lenny's gang (1960s) **Abe Saffron, Mr Sin's gang **Razor gangs (1920s) *Crime in Melbourne, Melbourne **The Carlton Crew, Carlton Crew **Moran family **Carl Williams (criminal), Williams family **Pettingill family **Squizzy Taylor, Richmond gang *Crime in Perth, Perth **Salvator cartel


References


Further reading

*
PBS. 2006. Frontline: Drug Wars.
*


External links

*
Worldpress.org. 2006. "Mexico: Drug Cartels a Growing Threat." Worldpress.org.
{{Gangs Drug cartels, Illegal drug trade Smuggling Organized crime groups Organized crime terminology Transnational organized crime