organised crimes

CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION

There is no such thing as a society without crime. Anti-social elements have planned their actions around the time and opportunities provided by society. The primary motivation for street criminal activity is thought to be the fulfilment of material demands. However, there are certain criminal gangs that target societal needs and organize their illegal operations for profit. Unless countermeasures are implemented, advancements in technology and demand from organizations for illicit services have the ability to erode public morality, neutralize law enforcement through corruption, and penetrate the economy. The dilemma faced by such organized criminals is growing by the day. The extent and scale of organized crime would be fascinating to investigate.

The allocation of illegitimate merchandise to enormous numbers of citizen consumers is at the root of organized crime. It’s also heavily active in legal trade and labor unions. To drive out or control lawful ownership and leadership, and to obtain unlawful profits from the public, it utilizes illegitimate tactics like as monopolization, terrorism, extortion, and tax evasion. In order to avoid government involvement, organized crime corrupts public authorities, which is getting increasingly sophisticated. Drug trafficking, illicit arms dealing, money laundering, and transporting unlawful operations are now added to India’s conventional areas of activity, which include extortion, seeking protection money, contract killing, bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, and smuggling. Organized crime seeks to gain power by bribing public authorities and so monopolizing or approaching monopolization. Later on, the money and power it generates are utilized to infiltrate legitimate businesses and a variety of other activities.

To comprehend the phenomena of organized crime, we must go back in time, not just in our own country’s history, but throughout the history of the whole civilized world. We also need to investigate human nature and psychology, particularly in relation to human society’s aggression, power lust, and ego fulfilment.

Organized crime is not contemporary nor recent, contrary to popular belief. It has simply changed its appearance and given itself a new name. The atrocities perpetrated by today’s organised gangs are identical to those perpetrated by organised criminals in previous eras. For millennia, banditry on the highways and piracy on the high seas have existed. Ghengis Khan’s and Attila the Hun’s marauding hordes don’t need to be mentioned again. Rural criminals in Europe stole animals, vandalised vineyards, and abducted members of wealthy families for ransom. Gang leaders like Mahmood of Ghazni and Mohamed Ghori made a living by robbing the wealthy.

Hundreds of thousands of innocent travellers were slain, and their goods were plundered, by thugs and Pindaris. They were all divided into small groups, either based on caste or tribe, or based on a shared occupation. Individual acts of crime done by various groups throughout history are recorded in depth in a number of publications, thus delving into detail about them is not possible. “A CRIMINAL HISTORY OF MANKIND” is one of these books[1].

CHAPTER II – JURISPRIDENTIAL THEORTICAL ASPECT OF ORGANIZED CRIME

Most criminals form criminal gangs in order to specialize in their characteristics and embrace a certain crime as their profession. According to Dr. Walter Reckless, organised crime is an illegal misadventure carried out by a boss, his lieutenants, and operators who establish a hierarchical structure for a certain length of time. The goal of such operations is to acquire vast sums of money by unethical ways. However, the manager and kingpin of the whole operation, such as prostitution, smuggling, bootlegging, gambling, racketeering, and so on, receive the lion’s share of the earnings.

Organized crime, often known as criminal organisations, is a global, national, or local collection of highly centralised companies operated by criminals for the goal of participating in unlawful activity, usually for monetary gain. Some organised criminal organisations, such as terrorist groups, are motivated by politics. When a gang extorts money from businesses for so-called “protection[2],” individuals are often forced to conduct business with them. Gangs may develop enough discipline to be called organised.

“Piracy and Banditry were to the preindustrial world what organised crime is to modern civilization[3],” says criminologist Paul Lunde. As Lunde puts it, “Barbarian invaders, whether Vandals, Goths, Norsemen, Turks, or Mongols, are not typically thought of as organised crime gangs, yet they share many characteristics with successful criminal enterprises. They were mostly nonideological, mostly ethnically oriented, utilised violence and intimidation, and followed their own set of rules[4].” Terrorism is connected to organised crime, but it pursues political goals rather than just financial ones, thus there is some overlap but no crossover between the two.

The Cosa Nostra model, developed by Cressey, examined at Mafia families. The mafia’s structure is formal and logical, with assigned duties, admission restrictions, and influence norms in place for organisational upkeep and sustainability[5].

Rather than logical hierarchies or secret organisations[6], Albini regarded organised criminal behaviour as a network of supporters and clients. Rather than the institutions, kinship is viewed as the foundation of organised crime. It is the impersonal actions, not the status or affiliations of their members, that define the group, as Cressey had identified; this includes fictive godparental and affinitive ties as well as those founded on familial ties, and the organisation is defined by its impersonal acts rather than its members’ position or relationships. The following are examples of norms of conduct and behavioral elements of power, networks, and roles:

1)The family functions as a social unit, with social and business activities intertwined;

2)All leadership roles, from the top to the bottom, are based on kinship;

3)The tighter the familial link, the higher the status;

4)A core group of family members is assigned leadership responsibilities, including fictive godparental relationship reinforcement;

5)Either legitimate or illicit companies are allocated to the leadership group, but not both; and

6)Money is transferred from legal to illicit business and back to illegal company by people, not corporations.

Strong family ties are inherited from southern Italian traditions, where family, not the church or the state, is the foundation of social order and morality.

Various organisations and sociologists in different nations have characterised organised crime differently. Although there is no universally recognised definition of organised crime, law enforcement organisations and scholars have identified a number of characteristics that are indicative of the phenomena. Offering these qualities has a practical dimension: the attributes give a foundation for deciding if a certain group of criminals represents organised crime and, thus, has to be treated differently than terrorists or groups of ordinary criminals.

• Crime Syndicate:

1. Has no political objectives 

2  Is hierarchical;

3. Has a restricted or exclusive membership;

4. Constitutes a distinct subculture;

5. Self-perpetuates; and

6. Demonstrates a readiness to employ unlawful violence.

7. Is monopolistic; and

8. Is subject to clear laws and restrictions[7].

According to Beirn and Messerschmidt, the heart of syndicated crime (also known as “organised crime”) is the provision of unlawful products and services in a society where such goods and services are in high demand. Syndicated crime has created a framework that allows such goods and services to be provided on a regular basis. This organisation is best described as a collection of criminal syndicates—associations of persons such as businesspeople, police officers, politicians, and criminals formed to carry out particular unlawful operations for profit. Criminal drug delivery, prostitution, and other illegal operations such as money laundering and labor racketeering are examples of these businesses. The structure of a syndicate, on the other hand, is determined by its unlawful activities. Although criminal syndicates are highly organised, a syndicate involved in the sale of illicit narcotics, for example, is structured differently from one involved in the unlawful prostitution[8] of women.

‘Organized crime is a technique of violence, intimidation, and corruption that, in the absence of effective law enforcement, can be successfully applied, by those sufficiently unscrupulous, to any business or industry that produces large profits,’ according to the California Commission on Organized Crime from 1953.The underlying motivation is always to establish and maintain a monopoly in a profitable business. It’s not uncommon for fundamental business to be unlawful. The core operation is sometimes lawful and is only a scam because of the violence and corruption that has pervaded [9]the industry.’

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines organised crime as any group with a structured structure whose primary goal is to earn money via unlawful operations. Such organisations retain their power by real or threatened violence, corrupt public officials, graft, or extortion, and have a substantial effect on the people in their communities, regions, or the country as a whole[10].

According to the IIT Research Institute and the Chicago Crime Commission, organised crime is defined as the engagement of individuals and groups of individuals (organised officially or informally) in transactions that are characterised by:

1. The desire to commit, or the actual commission of, substantive crimes;

2. A conspiracy to carry out these crimes;

3. The conspiracy’s persistence over time (at least one year) or the intent for it to continue over time;

4. Obtaining significant power or wealth, as well as pursuing a high level of political or economic security, as major goals.

5. An operational framework aimed at preserving political, governmental, and social institutions in their current shape[11],

According to Adamoli, an Italian criminologist, “the legal and international meanings of “organised crime” tend to coincide, such that the word indicates a technique of executing illegal operations different from other types of criminal behaviour.” Its distinguishing characteristics include violence, corruption, continuing criminal activities, and the group’s priority over any one member. Organized criminal groups are distinguished by their ability to persist throughout time despite the deaths of their members. They are not reliant on the ongoing engagement of any single allele[12].

In India, organised crime is defined as follows: “organised crime” means any continuing unlawful activity by an individual, singly or jointly, either as a member of an organised crime syndicate or on behalf of such syndicate, by use of violence or threat of violence, intimidation or coercion, or other unlawful means, as defined in section 2 (1) (e) of the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, 1999.

The European Commission and Law Europol[13] have identified eleven elements that are relevant to a functioning definition of organized crime.

• more than two people;
• their own assigned tasks;
• activity over a long or indefinite period of time;
• the use of discipline or control;
• the commission of serious criminal offences;
• international or transnational operations;
• the use of violence or other forms of intimidation;
• the use of commercial or business-like structures;
• money-laundering;
• exerting influence on politics, the media, government, the judiciary, or the economy;
• and driven by a desire for profit and/or power

The Palermo Convention on Transnational Organized Crime[14] also specifies the following components. It’s critical to separate organised crime from ordinary criminal activity.

– organised criminal: a three- or more-person organisation that commits one or more severe crimes in order to achieve financial or other material gain;

– serious crime: an offence punishable by at least four years in prison; and

– organised group: not created at random and without the requirement for a formal structure.

The following objectives have been set for this study into organised crime in India:

1) Research on the nature and features of organised crime in India.

2) to investigate the factors that lead to the creation and expansion of organised criminal gangs.

3) to investigate the make-up of these gangs, their management and control methods, and their organisational structure.

4)to investigate their source of money, how they use it, and how these gangs manage to live while simultaneously gaining authority and strength to run a parallel economy, if not a parallel government.

5) to investigate their strengths and weaknesses, as well as to propose methods to maintain Indian society free of their influence.

• CHARACTERSTICS OF ORGANIZED CRIME

According to the Presidents Commission on Organized Crime (Presidents Commission on Organized Crime, 1986 , organised crime is the consequence of three components[15]‘ dedication, knowledge, and actions:

1. Criminal gangs;
2. Protectors; and
3.  Specialist assistance.

A. The Criminal Gangs Characteristics

(1) Continuity: The criminal organisation exists beyond the lives of individual members and is built to withstand leadership changes.

(2) Organization: The criminal organisation is organised as a collection of hierarchically organised, interdependent offices dedicated to the accomplishment of a certain task. It might be extremely organised or quite flexible. It is distinguishable, though, because the positions are based on power and authority.

(3) Membership: Membership in the core criminal group is limited and based on shared characteristics such as ethnicity, criminal history, or shared hobbies. Potential members are subjected to intense inspection and must demonstrate their worth and commitment to the criminal organisation. Secrecy, willingness to perform any act for the organisation, and purpose to defend the group are among the membership rules. A member of a criminal gang receives financial incentives, some status, and protection from law enforcement in exchange for their loyalty.

(4) Criminality: The criminal gang’s main source of revenue is continued criminal activity. As a result, organised crime is rife with ongoing criminal conspiracies. Some actions, such as the supply of illicit products and services, are prohibited. Others, such as murder, intimidation, and bribery, directly create cash, while others, such as murder, intimidation, and bribery, add to the group’s capacity to make money and increase its authority. The criminal gang may be active in both legal and illegal commercial activities at the same time.

(5) Violence: A criminal gang’s violence and threat of violence are inextricably linked. The threat of violence is employed against members of the group to keep them in line, as well as against outsiders to defend the organization’s economic interests. Members are expected to engage in, condone, or authorise acts of violence.

(6) Power/Profit Goal: The criminal group’s members want to maximise the group’s earnings. Corruption of public officials, especially lawmakers and the political executive, is used to gain political power. The criminal gang maintains its dominance by forming alliances with “protectors” who defend the gang and its earnings.

B. Protectors

They are corrupt public officials, attorneys, and businesspeople who, individually or collectively, utilise their positions of power and privilege to protect the criminal organisation by abusing their positions of power and privilege and breaking the law. The criminal gang is protected from both civil and criminal government action as a consequence of the protector’s activities. The criminal protectors’ primary tool is corruption. A criminal gang is protected from the criminal justice system by a network of corrupt authorities.

C. Support for Organized Crime

(1) Support from a specialist: On an ad hoc basis, organised criminal gangs and their guardians rely on competent persons or assistance to aid them. Nonetheless, they are regarded to be a component of organised crime. Pilots, chemists, arsonists, hijackers, and gunmen are among the specialties.

(2) Social Support: Public officials who seek the support of organised crime figures; business leaders who conduct business with organised crime figures at social parties and so present the criminal gang in a favorable or glamorous light are examples of social support.

CHAPTER III: TYPES OF ORGANIZED CRIMES WITH RESPECT TO LEGAL POSITION IN INDIA WHILE DECODING THE CASE STUDIES

• TYPES OF ORGANISED CRIMES IN INDIA

1.  Drug Abuse and Trafficking

It is the country’s most significant organised crime[16] problem, and it is genuinely international in nature. India is strategically located between the nations of the Golden Triangle and the Golden Crescent, and serves as a crossroads for narcotic substances manufactured in these areas on their way to the West. India also produces a significant amount of licit opium, some of which makes its way into the illegal market in various ways. In India, the illicit drug trade revolves around five main substances: heroin, hashish, opium, cannibas, and methaqualone. Cocaine, amphetamine, and LSD seizures are not uncommon, although they are minor and infrequent

• Smuggling

Another important economic crime is smuggling, which consists of clandestine operations that lead to unrecorded commerce. The level of smuggling is determined by the type of the government’s budgetary policy. The kind of smuggled goods, as well as their quantity, is influenced by current fiscal policies.

C. Hawala & Money Laundering

Money laundering[17] is the process of converting illicit and ill-gotten funds into what seems to be legal funds in order to integrate them into the regular economy. Drug-related proceeds are a major source of money laundering all throughout the world. Furthermore, tax evasion and violations of exchange laws play a key part in blending this ill-gotten money with tax evaded income in order to conceal its source. This is usually accomplished by a complex process of placement, layering, and integration, so that the money that has been integrated into the legitimate economy may be freely utilised by criminals without fear of being discovered. Money laundering is a significant issue all across the world, threatening not only countries’ criminal justice systems but also their sovereignty. The United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988 (known as the Vienna Convention), to which India is a party, calls for the criminalization of the laundering of proceeds of drug crimes and other related activities, as well as the confiscation of such proceeds.

D. Terrorism and Narco-Terrorism 

Terrorism is a significant issue that India is dealing with. Terrorism does not come into the category of organised crime in terms of concept, because the primary motivation for terrorism is political and/or ideological, rather than the gain of financial power. However, the Indian experience demonstrates that under the canopy of terrorist organisations, criminals commit a wide range of crimes, including murders, rapes, kidnappings, gun trafficking, and drug trafficking. Terrorist commanders are taking use of existing criminal networks. In the 1980s, India had significant issues in the Punjab, which have since been resolved thanks to the establishment of a popular administration.

E. Proliferation and Trafficking of Light Arms

Proliferation of light weapons is a worldwide phenomenon. It has exacted a terrible toll in terms of human lives and the socioeconomic development of entire areas, the consequences of which can never be fully calculated. The death toll in Afghanistan has surpassed one million and is continuously growing, while conflict-related deaths continue to be in the thousands in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and several African countries. India has also suffered as a result of illegal arms trafficking. The global proliferation and transportation of weapons are closely related to the dual phenomena of increasing crime, armed conflicts, and terrorism.

F. Contract Killings

Murder is punished by life in jail or death under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. The conviction rate for murder cases is about 38%. Contract kilings have a very low probability of being discovered. Contract killings are carried out by enlisting the help of a professional gang in exchange for a monetary reward. A portion of the predetermined sum will be paid in advance, known as ‘supari.’ The remainder of the money will be given when the offence has been committed. Contract killings are a specialty of the Bombay gangs.They demand a hefty fee, which fluctuates depending on the socioeconomic position of the targeted. Contract killings of wealthy businessmen, industrialists, and politicians have been carried out by the Dawood Ibrahim gang. Gulshan Kumar, Bombay’s music mogul, was the most recent victim of this epidemic.

G. Kidnapping for ransom

It is a crime that occurs when someone is kidnapped .In urban conglomerates, kidnapping for ransom is a highly organised crime. Several local and interstate gangs are participating in it because the cash benefits are enormous compared to the labour and risk required. If the kidnappers’ requirements are satisfied, the kidnapee usually suffers no harm. Terrorist groups have also been known to engage in kidnappings in order to fund their operations. Even after his family paid a large ransom to a U.P. gang, the kidnapee was slain in one recent example. The victim knew the gang’s boss, and he was afraid that if he was released, the victim would reveal the gang’s identify. In this instance, several arrests have been made. The gang’s leader, by the way, is a member of the State of North India’s Legislative Assembly.

H. Prostitution

Trading in sex and girl-running is a lucrative business in which the underworld is heavily involved. In India, the flesh trade has flourished in many locations and forms. The underground is intimately linked to brothels and call girl rackets, both of which make a lot of money. They deliver young girls to brothels around the country, transporting them to and from the cities to reduce the chance of being rescued.

According to a survey performed by the Indian Health Organisation, Bombay has over 1,000,000 prostitutes, with Calcutta having a similar number. Delhi and Pune are expected to have 40,000 people apiece. Even Nagpur, a very small city, has around 15,000 prostitutes. According to a poll done by Patita Udhar Samiti, the country’s entire prostitute population is estimated to be at 25,000,000. Each year, over 300,000 people enter the field .

• CONTEMPORARY POSITION IN INDIA

Organized crime has always existed in India in some shape or another.However, due to a number of socioeconomic and political circumstances as well as developments in science and technology, it has taken on a more virulent form in modern times. Despite the fact that rural India is not exempt, it is mostly a city issue. There is no comprehensive legislation in India to regulate organised crime in all of its dimensions and forms; nevertheless, there is substantive law on criminal conspiracy.

Various legislation also contain criminal penalties for particular breaches of those statutes.

A. Conspiracy to Commit Crime

Criminal conspiracy is defined in Section 120-A[18] of the Indian Penal Code as “where two or more individuals agree to perform, or cause to be done-

 (1) an unlawful act, or

 (2) an act that is not illegal by illegal means.”

Such an agreement is referred to as a criminal conspiracy: provided, however, that no agreement other than an agreement to commit an offence becomes a criminal conspiracy unless one or more parties to the agreement perform some act other than the agreement in furtherance of the agreement.

Explanation: It makes no difference whether the illegal act is the main goal of the agreement or just a side effect of it.”

Criminal conspiracy is punishable under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. The conspirator faces the same penalties as the primary criminal. However, it should be noted that criminal conspiracy is a serious crime in and of itself. The criminal conspiracy does not have to succeed, and proof of the criminal conspiracy’s existence is sufficient to have the criminal punished.

B. Dacoity and Related Offenses

Dacoity is one of India’s oldest crimes, and it is performed only for the purpose of extortion or looting.

“When five or more persons jointly commit or attempt to commit a robbery, or when the total number of persons jointly committing or attempting to commit a robbery, and persons present and aiding such commission or attempt amount to five or more, every person so committing, attempting, or aiding is said to commit ‘dacoity,'” according to Section 391[19] of the Penal Code.In other words, if five or more people commit robbery, they are guilty of “dacoity.”

Dacoity is punished by life in prison or a minimum of ten years and five months in jail (section 395[20]).

Preparation to commit dacoity (section 399[21]) and assemblage for the purpose of committing dacoity are likewise prohibited under the Code (section 402).

Importantly, Section 400[22] of the Code makes it illegal to be a member of a “gang” of people who get together to commit crimes on a regular basis.

C. Enactments on Gangster Law

There is no centralized regulation that applies across the country to combat “gang activities.” The most populous and politically powerful state in the country (population: 139.1 million in 1991), Uttar Pradesh, adopted the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, which is exclusively applicable in that state. The gang has been defined as a group of individuals who, individually or collectively, engage in anti-national activities involving violence or the threat of violence in order to gain undue political, economic, or physical advantages. Crimes against the body, bootlegging, forced seizure of immovable property, community riots, impeding public officials in the performance of their responsibilities, and so on are examples of these acts.

A gangster faces a minimum sentence of two years in prison, with a maximum sentence of ten years (sec. 3). The rules of evidence have been changed, and the trial court can now raise certain statutory presumptions against the gangsters. Witnesses’ safety has also been taken into consideration. On the public prosecutor’s request, the trial might be held in secret. If the Court so chooses, the name and address of a witness might be withheld from the court records. If the District Magistrate feels the gangster’s property was gained via illicit means, he or she can take it.

D. Other Statutes

A number of additional important legislation address particular aspects of organised crime. The Customs Act of 1962, the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1884, the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act of 1956, the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act of 1973, and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act of 1956 are among the laws that have been passed, The Public Gambling Act of 1867, to name a few, are among them. Furthermore, the State Government has enacted legislation on topics like as taxes, prohibition, and gaming, among others

E. Preventive Measures

The National Security Act of 1980[23] authorises the Central Government, State Governments, or personnel appointed by these governments to detain people without charge. The one-year detention order is given to prevent a person from engaging in any way that may jeopardise India’s defence or cordial ties with foreign nations. An Advisory Board led by a serving High Court judge must authorise the detention. The phrase “security of India” is subject to interpretation, and this Act has been utilised against anti-national groups and hard core gangsters.

The Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1988[24] is a federal law that prohibits the illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. The Act’s principal goal is to imprison people who are involved in the illegal trafficking of narcotic narcotics and psychotropic substances.The Central Government, State Governments, or designated officers of these governments can issue an order detaining a person to prevent him from engaging in illegal narcotics trafficking. The confinement can be for one year, but it can be extended to two years under specific situations.

As a result, India’s laws dealing with various aspects of organised crime are dispersed over numerous legislation. Existing laws, on the other hand, fall well short of what is required to combat the threat. The Indian government recognises this and has developed the Organized Crime Control Act.

• CASE STUDIES

1. Shankar Guha Neogi Murder Case :

Shankar Guha Neogi[25], a prominent Central Indian labour activist, was assassinated while sleeping at his home in September 1991. The CBI was activated at the request of the Madhya Pradesh government. According to the investigation, he called a strike for around 80,000 members of his union in the Bhillai-Raipur Belt, seeking remunerative pay and job security. Because the strike lasted nearly nine months, it inevitably disrupted the operations of numerous industrial units, notably the Shah family’s steel production companies. According to the investigation, a member of the Shah family, together with three others, including two local dons, had gone overseas to buy fire weapons in preparation for the murder of Neogi. The culprits of this crime were apprehended by CBI with the aid of the local police while working on this clue. The Shah family had tasked a local don with assassinating Neogi, who had recruited a professional murderer from a neighbouring state. It was a contract killing, and the Shah family paid a portion of the money before the killing, with the remainder due after the murder was committed. The charge sheet was submitted against nine people after a thorough investigation. The case was resolved last year, and seven defendants were found guilty by the trial court. Six people were sentenced to life in jail, while the murderer was sentenced to death. The case is currently awaiting confirmation of the death sentence by the High Court. This is one of the few organised crime instances in which three layers of offenders have been convicted, including two members of the Shah family.

1. The Case of L.D. Arora’s Murder

L.D. Arora[26], a senior Customs Department officer, was shot dead at point blank range while stepping out of his automobile in front of his home in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, in 1993. He’d just gotten home from work. The unnamed assailant had been waiting for him beneath the stairwell of Arora’s multi-story apartment complex. The Uttar Pradesh Police Department was unable to make a breakthrough. The matter was eventually sent to CBI. The investigation began in Bombay, where the dead had been stationed for a long time, and had focused on a number of smuggling ringleaders, including Md. Dosa, Tiger Memon, and Dawood Ibrahim. When the records of the Delhi Police Department were reviewed, it was discovered that Babloo was a suspect in the murder case. Babloo was also discovered to be a contract assassin and smuggler. In all of the court trials, the Extradition Magistrate found a prima facie case against Babloo. In August 1995, he was deported to India, where he is still on trial. This was the first time in 45 years that an extradition case had been filed.

1. Case of Terrorist Funding

A terrorist was recently apprehended by Delhi Police, along with some foreign cash and questionable documents, including letters sent by a prominent militant commander from abroad to his Indian colleagues. His interrogation showed international ties and the remittance of a huge sum of money into India via the ‘hawala’ route from a foreign source. CBI was urged to take up the case because of its importance. Several ‘hawala’ operators were detained throughout the inquiry and revealed the identities of their proprietors. The case is now known as the Jain Hawala Case[27]. Even though the evidence was not verified, charge-sheets were filed against many hawala money recipients. While the main case (terrorist funding case) is moving on in the Supreme Court, the Jain Hawala Case, which was supervised by the Supreme Court under its writ authority, is now being litigated in the Delhi High Court.

1. Case of Advocate Shanmughsundram[28]

Mr. Shanmughsundram, a practising lawyer, was severely assaulted at his home in a southern state in May 1995. The incident happened just in front of his personal crew. The victim was assaulted as he prepared to submit a petition in the High Court against a major politician’s corrupt practises. Although the local police made several arrests, the legal community was not impressed. The High Court handed the matter over to the CBI. The victim, despite being politically connected, was attempting to obtain court intervention, according to the investigation. This enraged the politician who orchestrated the attack with the help of his aides. The local police’s participation was dubious since they organised the surrender of some criminals who were not engaged in the attack but decided to take credit in order to protect a politically strong criminal organisation. The true perpetrators were identified thanks to a CBI probe. They were apprehended and taken to court. The goon who orchestrated the attack, Welding Kumar, was not present but was accused with criminal conspiracy. All of the attackers, including Welding Kumar, have been sentenced to life in prison. The inquiry could not continue beyond Welding Kumar, however, since enough proof against the motivators, the third tier, could not be gathered. This is a typical obstacle in organised crime investigations.

CHAPTER 1V: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS WITH OTHER COUNTRIES

Organized crime is no longer restricted to the borders of a single country, but has evolved into a global issue. Drug trafficking, money laundering, terrorism, weapons trafficking, and illegal immigration rackets are all examples of this. Furthermore, improvements in science and technology allow members of organised criminal groups to operate with unprecedented mobility and sophistication, exacerbating an already dire situation.

There is no precise or generally acceptable definition of organised crime. The evolution and forms of organised crime vary per nation, which might be due to a variety of social, economic, historical, and legal variables. As a result, any attempt to describe organised crime must take into account each country’s experience with the subject.

The major portion of the countries with the most serious gang issues are in South and Central America, but one European country makes the cut.

1. Long linked with the Mafia, Italy has battled to overcome the influence of organisations such as the Cosa Nostra in Sicily, the ‘Ndrangheta of Calabria (considered one of Europe’s largest cocaine traffickers), and the Camorra in Naples.
2. In Pakistan, organised crime is inextricably tied to terrorism and terrorist groups, with a well-established relationship between the Taliban and narcotics trafficking. The majority of heroin produced in Afghanistan, the world’s largest producer, is exported through Pakistan, which, unlike its neighbour, has a maritime border.

• Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, and it has been embroiled in a civil war since 2015, including strong neighbour Saudi Arabia. Because of the country’s poverty and volatility, it is ideal for corruption and smuggling.

• Peru is the world’s second-largest producer of cocaine, with a thriving network of narco gangs and drug traffickers as a result. Illegal logging and wood trading are other issues in the nation. Unlike the other nations on the list, however, Peru has minimal levels of organised crime-related violence.

• Mexico is the major entry point for illegal narcotics into the United States, and this trade has resulted in bloodshed among narco gangs in the country.

• Since the turn of the century, the United States has conducted extensive research on organised crime[29]. The Kefauver Committee (1951) discovered a countrywide network of criminal syndicates operating in the United States, based largely on the indiscriminate use of “muscle” and “murder” in their unlawful activities.
• Several countries’ penal codes, notably Italy’s, have made organised crime illegal. Although the Italian Penal Code[30] does not describe “organised crime,” it does define “criminal association.” “When three or more individuals combine for the intention of committing more than one crime, whoever encourages, forms, or organises the association shall be punished, for that alone, with imprisonment from three to seven years,” according to Article 416 of the Italian Penal Code.
• The Prevention of Irregularities by Gangsters Act is a specific law in Japan[31]. Its purpose is to exert essential control over gangsters’ actions of intimidation and violence, to protect the operations of Civic Public Organizations, and to prevent people’ lives from being endangered by gang-land conflict. According to Article 2 of the aforementioned legislation, “gangs” means “any organisation likely to allow its members (including members of connected organisations of the said organisation) to collectively and habitually undertake criminal acts of violence.” The law appears to have a broad scope, as it claims to encompass all forms of criminal aggression. The focus is on the members of an organization’s collective and habitual commission of criminal acts of violence. The Acts also allow the Prefectural Public Safety Commission to designate a gang after providing such gangs and its members an opportunity to be heard. It makes being a member or associate of a specified gang illegal. However, the penalty is low, with a maximum sentence of one year in detention.
• “Any company or group of persons engaging in continuing illegal behaviour with the principal objective of profit generation, regardless of national boundaries,” according to Interpol. There is no universally accepted or exact definition of organised crime. The evolution and forms of organised crime vary per nation, which might be due to a variety of social, economic, historical, and legal variables. As a result, any attempt to describe organised crime must take into account each country’s experience with the subject. 

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION

Organized crime is first and foremost a domestic issue that, if left uncontrolled, takes on a transnational dimension. Organized crime succeeds so long as nations permit it to succeed . The first and most vital stage in our control efforts should be to keep ‘incident’ or routine crime within normal boundaries by putting criminal elements under constant police pressure. If we succeed, we will have eliminated or considerably diminished the threat of disconnected criminal networks and organised crime phenomena. Organised crime must be combated with a smart mix of strengthening criminal laws and the criminal justice system, institutionalising a national and state-level coordinating structure, and enlisting the media in control efforts, depending on its severity, spread, and dimensions. Without significant political commitment, law enforcement, no matter how effective, will fail. This pre-supposes exclusion of criminal elements and their political sympathizers from elected public offices. Because organised crime is based on the gain of financial power, it is critical that the flow of money to organised criminal groups be stopped by strict legislation and enforcement. As a result, transnational cooperation is required to combat it, including expedited extradition of fugitive offenders, expulsion of unwanted foreigners, and reciprocal legal aid in investigations and prosecutions and the prompt implementation of Interpol’s Red Corner notifications The fight against organised transnational crime is a difficult one, but rising public awareness, increased government concern, and mutually reliant international interests provide a glimmer of hope.

CHAPTER VI: SUGGESTION/ RECOMMENDATIONS

 Civilians would be confronting a faceless, nameless, and unseen adversary if we didn’t first define and identify organized crime and the organized criminals. The offenders that make up the organized criminal gang must be discovered, listed, and held legally accountable for their crimes. A murder is a murder and an abduction is a kidnapping without this fixing of identity and culpability, according to current law. By the same standard, a gang is a gang under the law, which does not distinguish between a random band of criminals and a well-organized organization. In the last two decades, it has been conclusively demonstrated that ordinary laws are completely useless in dealing with organized gangs, and that ordinary police investigation and prosecution have no influence on their operations.

As a result, the first step in combatting organized crime must be the establishment of a system for distinguishing it from other types of crimes and for distinguishing organized criminals from other types of criminals. To do this, a legislation must be enacted that defines an organized criminal gang and its members. Those criminals and criminal groups that fall within this criteria will need to be alerted, and a new set of harsh laws should be enacted to deal with them, with specific powers granted to law enforcement authorities.

The following should be addressed by the major provisions of the new laws:

1) The bail provision for notified criminals should be changed.

2) Dealing with abettors, such as government employees, professionals, and harborers

3)Seizure of assets and property gained or suspected of having been obtained by organized crime

4) Police officers are protected against false accusations and enquires, as well as HRC.

5)Improved investigation time for charge sheets

6) Amendments to the powers of search and seizure of property and records

7)The offender should bear the burden of proving his or her source of income.

8) Trials that are quick

• BIBLOGRAPHY

BOOKS:

• Criminology, Penology & Victimology – Dr. K.P. Singh
• The Crime Book- DK Cathy Scott
• Reducing Crime- Jerry Ratcliffe

ARTICLES

• https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/Organized-crime
• http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/1290/Organized-Crime-In-India.html
• https://www.svpnpa.gov.in/images/npa/pdfs/CompletedResearchProject/22_organizedcrimeindia.pdf

Author:

Tavleen Kaur

UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM  & ENERGY STUDIES

SCHOOL OF LAWB.A. L.L.B. (Hons)Criminal  Law

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[1] Colins Wilson

[2] Macionis, Gerber, John, Linda (2010). Sociology 7th Canadian Ed. Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Canada Inc. pp. 206.

[3] Paul Lunde,Organized Crime,2004

[4] Ibid

[5] Cressey & Finckenauer (2008). Theft of the Nation: The Structure and Operations of Organized Crime in America. Transaction Publishers.

[6] Albini (1995). “Russian Organized Crime: Its History, Structure and Function”. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 11(4).

[7] Albini (1988).”Donald Cressey’s Contributions to the Study of Organized Crime:An Evaluation.” Crime and Delinquency 34(3). Albini (1971). The American Mafia: Genesis of a Legend.

[8] Beime,Piers,Messerschmidt,JamesW. (2006),Criminology,4th ed.,LosAngeles, CA:Roxbury Publishing.

[9] The Special Crime Study Commission on Organized Crime, (1953), FinalReport,Sacramento,California.

[10] FBI website.

[11] Il’T ResearchInstitute& ChicagoCrimeCommission(1971),AStudyofOrganizedCrime,nodateof publication indicated.

[12] Adamoli, Sabrina, Di Nicola, Andrea, Savona, Ernesto U ., Zoffi, Paola (1998), Organised Crime Aroundthe World, Helsinki.

[13] https://www.europol.europa.eu

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[16] https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-3751-organised-crimes-in-india.html

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