A drug cartel is any criminal organization with the intention of supplying drug trafficking 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 lords (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 Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

distributors A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark plugs ...

sales representatives Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...

, accountants and

money launderers Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

. 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 * MungikiKinnear, 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) ** Anini gang *

Mai-Mai The term Mai-Mai or Mayi-Mayi refers to any kind of community-based militia group active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that is formed to defend local communities and territory against other armed groups. Most were formed to resis ...

militia gangs * Moroccan hashish smugglers ** Ahmed organization

Americas

North America

Canada

* Rivard organization * Red Scorpions * Bacon Brothers *

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

West End Gang The West End Gang (french: Gang de l'ouest) is a Canadian organized crime group in Montreal, Quebec. An Irish mob group originating from the Irish-Canadian ethnic enclave of Pointe-Saint-Charles in the 1950s, the majority of the gang's earni ...

** Blass gang ** Dubois Brothers *

Punjabi-Canadian organized crime 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 Sik ...

** Punjabi Mafia ਜੌਹਲ ਗਿਰੋਹ (Canada)Schneider, Stephen (2009) ''Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada'', John Wiley and Sons, *Canadian mafia families **

Rizzuto crime family The Rizzuto crime family () is an organized crime family based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, whose criminal activity covers most of southern Quebec and Ontario. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) considers the family a facti ...

Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia clan The Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia clan () was a Mafia clan of the Cosa Nostra and held a key position in the illicit drug trade and money laundering for Cosa Nostra in the 1980s and 1990s. The Italian press baptized the clan as "The Rothschilds of the ...

** Cotroni crime family ** Musitano crime family ** Papalia crime family ** Luppino crime family ** Perri crime family ** Siderno Group **

Commisso 'ndrina The Commisso 'ndrina () is a powerful clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organization in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Siderno, but also has a branch in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada as part of the Siderno Group. ...

Mexico

Mexican cartels (also known in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

as: ''la Mafia'' (the

mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

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 The Knights Templar Cartel (Spanish: ''Los Caballeros Templarios'') was a Mexican criminal organization originally composed of the remnants of La Familia Michoacana drug cartel based in the Mexican State of Michoacán. The Knights Templar Ca ...

(Splintered from La Familia Cartel) *''

Guadalajara Cartel The Guadalajara Cartel ( es, Cártel de Guadalajara) also known as The Federation ( es, La Federación, link=no) was a Mexican drug cartel which was formed in the late 1970s by Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Rafael Caro Quintero, and Ernesto Fo ...

'' (The first full-fledged Mexican drug cartel, from which most of the big cartels spawned) (disbanded in 1989) *''

Sinaloa Cartel The Sinaloa Cartel ( es, link=no, Cártel de Sinaloa), also known as the CDS, the Guzmán-Loera Organization, the Pacific Cartel, the Federation and the Blood Alliance, is a large, international organized crime syndicate that specializes in il ...

'' (Spawned from the Guadalajara Cartel) ** Colima Cartel (members are now a branch of the Sinaloa Cartel) **

Sonora Cartel The Sonora Cartel, also known as Caro Quintero Organization, was a Mexico based criminal cartel. Upon the cartel's disintegration, its leaders were incorporated into the Tijuana Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel. By 2007, Sonora Cartel, Colima Cartel ...

(was reformed in 2018 and is still a branch of the Sinaloa Cartel) ** Artistas Asesinos (hitman squad) (Disbanded) ** Gente Nueva (Sinaloa cell in Chihuahua) (Disbanded) ** Los Ántrax (enforcer squad) Sinaloa Cartel Drug Tunnel

*'' 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'' (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) Drug-War Related Murders in Mexico 2006-2011

Drug-War Related Murders in Mexico 2006-2011

**Cártel del Centro (cell of the Beltran-Leyva Cartel in Mexico City) (Disbanded) ** Independent Cartel of Acapulco (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 The Tijuana Cartel (Spanish: ''Cártel de Tijuana'') or Arellano-Félix-Organization (Spanish: ''Organización Arellano Félix'', AFO) is a Mexican drug cartel based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Founded by the Arellano-Félix family, the ...

'' (Spawned from the Guadalajara Cartel) ** Oaxaca Cartel (Was a branch of the disbanded Tijuana Cartel, its regional leader was captured in 2007) *''

Juárez Cartel The Juárez Cartel (Spanish: ''Cártel de Juárez''), also known as the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization, is a Mexican drug cartel based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, across the Mexico—U.S. border from El Paso, Texas. The cartel is one of ...

''(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 The Barrio Azteca (), or Los Aztecas (), is a Mexican-American street, and prison gang originally based in El Paso, Texas. The gang was formed in the jails of El Paso in 1986 and expanded into a transnational criminal organization. Currently on ...

(U.S. street gang) (Allied with La Linea) Esparragoza-Moreno

* Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel * Caborca Cartel *Lesser-known small- criminal organizations: ** Los Mexicles ( 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 An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

) *** Mexico City International Airport *** 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, ...

(FBI) Juan García Ábrego ***

Texas National Guard The Texas Military Forces (TXMF) are the principal instrument through which the Texas Military Department (TMD) executes security policy for Texas, which has the second-largest population and border in the United States, and the 9th-largest eco ...

*** U.S. Customs and Border Protection ***United States Immigration and Naturalization Service

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 The National Crime Syndicate was the name given by the press to the multi-ethnic, loosely connected, American confederation of several criminal organizations. It mostly consisted of and was led by the closely interconnected Italian-American Mafia ...

** Seven Group **

Murder, Inc. 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 ...

Rockaway, Robert A (2000) ''But he was good to his mother: the lives and crimes of Jewish gangsters'', Gefen Publishing House Ltd, * Polish Mob **

Saltis-McErlane Gang Joseph Francis Saltis, (8 September 1894 – 2 August 1947), known as "Polack Joe", was a Polish-American Prohibition gangster who, with Frank McErlane, operated an illegal bootlegging racket in the Back of the Yards neighborhood in Chicago, Illi ...

Sifakis, Carl. ''The Mafia Encyclopedia''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ** Kielbasa Posse ** The Greenpoint Crew ** Flats Mob **

The Flathead gang The Flathead Gang, also known as The Flatheads, was a group of bank robbers. The gang was operating in the Detroit, Michigan area. When the police became a major problem for the gang they decided to move their robberies and other crimes to the Stat ...

Kavieff, Paul (2008) ''Detroit's Infamous Purple Gang'' Arcadia Publishing, * Prohibition-era gangs **

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...

*** 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 The Sheldon Gang was a Chicago criminal gang during the early years of Prohibition known for being the main rivals of the Saltis-McErlane Gang and the Southside O'Donnell Brothers. The gang's primary activities included bootlegging and hijacking ...

** Broadway Mob ** The Lanzetta Brothers ** Circus Cafe Gang ** Wandering Family ** Remus organization * Hispanic-American ** Marielitos *** The Corporation Arizona Cartel Border Brothers Paisas

Nuestra Familia Nuestra Familia (Spanish for ''"our family"'') is a criminal organization of Mexican American (Chicano) prison gangs with origins in Northern California. While members of the Norteños gang are considered to be foot soldiers of Nuestra Familia, b ...

***

Crips The Crips is an alliance of street gangs that is based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips were initially a single alliance ...

or Locs ***

Bloods The Bloods are a primarily African-American street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn by its members and by particular gang symbols, includ ...

or B Dogs *** Surenos or SUR 13 *** Nortenos or Norte 14 ** Puerto Rican mafia *** Agosto organization *** La ONU *** Martinez Familia Sangeros *** Solano organization *** Negri organization *** Márquez gambling ring ** Polanco-Rodriguez organization *

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

''(See also Rampart scandal)'' ** Nash gang **

Wonderland Gang The Wonderland Gang was a group of drug dealers involved in the Los Angeles cocaine trade during the late 1970s and early 1980s; their home base was located on Wonderland Avenue in the Laurel Canyon section of Los Angeles, California. On July 1, ...

* Dixie Mafia **

Cornbread Mafia The "Cornbread mafia" was the name for a group of Kentucky men who created the largest domestic marijuana production operation in United States history. It was based in Marion, Nelson and Washington counties in central Kentucky. The term "Cornbre ...

* Greek-American organized crime **

Philadelphia Greek Mob Philadelphia's Greek Mob, also known as the Philadelphia Greek Mafia or simply the Greek Mafia, are a low-profile criminal organization of ethnic Greek Americans in Philadelphia with alleged connections to the Italian Philadelphia crime family an ...

** Velentzas Family * Assyrian/Chaldean mafiaSalinger, Lawrence (2005) '' Encyclopedia of White-Collar & Corporate Crime: A - I, Volume 1'' SAGE, *

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

** The Company ** Leota mob * Wall gang * Elkins mob * The Chickens and the Bulls * 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 CommissionCapeci, Jerry (2002) ''The complete idiot's guide to the Mafia'', Alpha Books, *The

Five Families The Five Families refers to five major New York City organized crime families of the Italian American Mafia formed in 1931 by Salvatore Maranzano following his victory in the Castellammarese War. Maranzano reorganized the Italian American gangs ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

** Bonanno *** Indelicato crew *** The Motion Lounge Crew **

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

*** Scarpa crew ** Genovese ***

116th Street Crew The 116th Street Crew,

*** Greenwich Village Crew *** New Jersey Crew ** Gambino ***

Ozone Park Boys The Ozone Park Boys, also known as "Liberty Posse" and "The Young Guns", are a Gambino crime family American Mafia, Mafia crew based in Ozone Park, Queens. They are infamous for their massive number of crimes, including an illegal $30 million-a-y ...

***

DeMeo crew Roy Albert DeMeo (; September 7, 1940 – January 10, 1983) was an Italian-American mobster in the Gambino crime family of New York City. He headed a group referred to as the "DeMeo crew", which became notorious for the large number of murders ...

*** Baltimore Crew *** South Florida faction *** New Jersey faction *** The Bergin Crew *** Cherry Hill Gambinos ** Lucchese *** The Jersey Crew ***

The Vario Crew The Vario Crew, also known as the Canarsie Crew, is a group of Italian-American mobsters within the Lucchese crime family that controls organized crime activities within the New York metropolitan area but has been predominantly based from Broo ...

*** 107th Street gang * Magaddino crime family *

DeCavalcante crime family The DeCavalcante crime family, also known as the North Jersey Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia organized crime family that operates mainly in northern New Jersey, particularly in Elizabeth, Newark, West New York, and various other North Jer ...

*The

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, ...

''(see also Unione Siciliane)'' ** Las Vegas crew (defunct) *

Philadelphia crime family The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Philadelphia Mafia, the Philly Mob or Philly Mafia, the Philadelphia-South Jersey Mafia, or Bruno-Scarfo family is an Italian-American Mafia family based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed and ...

Pittsburgh crime family The Pittsburgh crime family,CapeciChapter 5 "Mafia Families Poison the Northeast"/ref> also known as the LaRocca crime family''Organized Crime in Pennsylvania: Traditional and Non-Traditional''. Pennsylvania Crime Concession. April 15, 1988 or P ...

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 American Mafia, Mafia crime family, family in New England. It has two distinct factions, one based ...

** Angiulo Brothers crew * Cleveland crime family *

Los Angeles crime family The Los Angeles crime family, also known as the L.A. Mafia or the Southern California crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in Los Angeles as part of the larger Italian-American Mafia. Since its inception in the ea ...

Kansas City crime family The Kansas City crime family, also known as the Civella crime family or Kansas City Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia family based in Kansas City, Missouri. History Early history The Italian-American organized crime family began when two Si ...

* Trafficante crime family *

Detroit Partnership The Detroit Partnership (also known as the Detroit crime family, Detroit Combination, Detroit Mafia, Zerilli crime family, and the Tocco–Zerilli crime family) () is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in Detroit, Michigan, and ...

* Milwaukee crime family * New Orleans crime family

=Defunct mafia families

= * Morello crime family *

Genna crime family The Genna crime family (), was a crime family that operated in Prohibition-era Chicago. From 1921 to 1925, the family was headed by the six Genna brothers, known as the ''Terrible Gennas''.Capeci, Jerry. ''The complete idiot's guide to the Mafia' ...

* Porrello crime family * St. Louis crime family * Rochester Crime Family * Bufalino crime family * Dallas crime family *

Denver crime family The Colorado crime family, also known as the Smaldone crime family, Denver crime family, Denver Mafia or the Mountain Mafia was an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in Pueblo and Denver, Colorado. Pete and Sam Carlino’s bootle ...

San Francisco crime family The San Francisco crime family, also known as the Lanza crime family or San Francisco Mafia, was an American Mafia crime syndicate in San Francisco. The syndicate was organized in the early 1930s by Francesco "Frank" Lanza. The San Francisco fami ...

* San Jose crime family * Seattle crime family * Omaha crime family * Licavoli Mob * Cardinelli gang * New York Camorra * East Harlem Purple Gang

= Jewish mafia

= *New York City ** Schultz gang ** The Bugs and Meyer Mob **

Shapiro Brothers Meyer (1908–1931), Irving (1904–1931) and William Shapiro (1911–1934), collectively known as the Shapiro Brothers were the leaders of a group of Jewish-American mobsters from New York City and based in Williamsburg. Well established in ...

** Yiddish Black Hand ** Rothstein organization ** Kaplan gang ** Rosenzweig gang *Boston ** 69th Street Gang ** Sagansky organization ** Solomon organization *Los Angeles **

Cohen crime family Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen (September 4, 1913 – July 29, 1976) was an American gangster, boxer and entrepreneur based in Los Angeles during the mid-20th century. Early life Mickey Cohen was born on September 4, 1913, in New York City to J ...

(mix between Jewish and Italian members) * The Purple Gang * Zwillman gang * Kid Cann's gang * Birger mob * Cleveland Syndicate

=
African-American organized crime In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, African-American organized crime emerged following the first and second large-scale migration of African-Americans from the South to major cities of the Northeast, Midwest, and later the West Coast. I ...

= *New York City ** The Council ** Harlem numbers racket **

Bumpy Johnson Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Johnson (October 31, 1905 – July 7, 1968) was an American crime boss in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. Early life Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Johnson was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on October 31, 1905 ...

gang ** Supreme TeamAmerican Gangster, BET
** The Bebos ** The Country Boys ** Matthews Organization * The Family *

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

** Black Mafia Family ** Young Boys, Inc. ** Chambers Brothers *

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Black Mafia The Black Mafia, also known as the Philadelphia Black Mafia (PBM), Black Muslim Mafia and Muslim Mob, was a Philadelphia-based African-American organized crime syndicate. The organization began as a small criminal collective, known for holdin ...

Chepesiuk, Ron (2007) ''Gangsters of Harlem: the gritty underworld of New York City's most famous neighborhood'', Barricade Books, **

Junior Black Mafia The Black Mafia, also known as the Philadelphia Black Mafia (PBM), Black Muslim Mafia and Muslim Mob, was a Philadelphia-based African-American organized crime syndicate. The organization began as a small criminal collective, known for holdin ...

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

** 69 Mob *

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

** Williams organization (drug trafficking) * Washington, D.C. ** Rayful Edmond organization *

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

** Theodore Roe's gambling ring ** Stokes organization * Atlantic City ** Aso Posse *

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

** Miami Boys * Rosemond Organization

=
Irish Mob The Irish Mob (also known as the Irish mafia or Irish organized crime) is a collective of organized crime syndicates composed of ethnic Irish members which operate primarily in Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia, and have been in ...

= * Prohibition-era Chicago gangs **

North Side Gang The North Side Gang, also known as the North Side Mob, was an Irish-Polish-American criminal organization within Chicago during the Prohibition era from the early 1920s to the mid-1930s. It was the principal rival of the South Side Gang, als ...

English, T.J. ''Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster''. New York: HarperCollins, 2005, ** James Patrick O'Leary organization ** John Patrick Looney gang **

Valley Gang The Valley Gang was an Irish-American street gang in Chicago, Illinois during the early 20th century, which ultimately made the transition to organized crime and became a de facto extension of the Chicago Outfit under Al Capone. Formed in the 18 ...

** Ragen's Colts ** Touhy gang *

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Mullen Gang The Mullen Gang was an Irish-American gang operating in Boston. Gang members Paulie McGonagle (died November 1974) was a Boston mobster and onetime leader of the Mullen Gang, a South Boston street gang involved in burglary, auto theft, and a ...

Winter Hill Gang The Winter Hill Gang is a loose confederation of organized crime figures in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. The gang members and leadership are predominantly Irish-American and Italian-American descent. The organization itself derives its ...

** Gustin Gang ** Charlestown Mob ** Killeen gang * Danny Hogan's gang * Danny Walsh gang * Tom Dennison empire * Danny Greene's Celtic Club * Nucky Johnson's Organization *

K&A Gang The K&A Gang, currently known as the Northeast Philly Irish Mob, is a predominantly Irish American criminal network based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The K&A Gang was started following World War II and controlled the city's Irish-American cr ...

* Enright gang * New York ** Dwyer gang ** The Westies **

White Hand Gang The White Hand Gang was a collection of various Irish American gangs on the New York City, Brooklyn, and Red Hook waterfronts from the early 1900s to 1925 who organized against the growing influence of Italian gangsters. Their name was chosen in re ...

** Higgins gang *

St Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

** Hogan Gang ** Egan's Rats

Caribbean

* Chadee gang (

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

) *Jamaican

Yardies Yardie (or Yaadi) is a term often used, particularly within the Caribbean expatriate and Jamaican diaspora, to refer to people of Jamaican origin, though its exact meaning changes depending on context. The term is derived from the Jamaican pat ...

& Posses **

Shower Posse The Shower Posse is a Jamaican gang, started by Lester Lloyd Coke, which is involved with drug and arms smuggling. Its home is in Tivoli Gardens in Jamaica, but it primarily operates in the Canadian province of Ontario and the US states of New ...

** POW Posse **

Tottenham Mandem The Tottenham Mandem (also Tottenham Man Dem, TMD, or Man Dem Crew, formerly known as Frontliners or Tottenham Boys) were an organised street gang based in Tottenham, North London, that began on the Broadwater Farm estate prior to the Broadwa ...

*** Star Gang ** Klans Massive * No Limit Soldiers * Phantom death squad ( Guyana) * Zoe Pound ( Haitian, see also

Tonton Macoute The Tonton Macoute ( ht, Tonton Makout) or simply the Macoute was a special operations unit within the Haitian paramilitary force created in 1959 by dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. In 1970 the militia was renamed the ' (VSN, Voluntee ...

) * Dominican drug cartels ** Paulino organization ** Féliz organization

South America

Brazil

* Comando Vermelho * Primeiro Comando da Capital * Terceiro Comando Puro * Terceiro Comando *

Amigos dos Amigos Amigos dos Amigos (ADA, ''Friends of Friends'') is a criminal organization that operates in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. It was started up in 1998 when a member of Comando Vermelho was expelled from the organization for ordering the murd ...

Bolivia

* Bolivian drug cartels ''(See also García Meza regime drug trafficking)'' ** Chapare Cartel ** La Corporación ** Santa Cruz Cartel

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 * Clan del Golfo * Oficina de Envigado *

National Liberation Army (Colombia) The National Liberation Army (Spanish: ''Ejército de Liberación Nacional'', ELN) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict,

* FARC dissidents * Los Rastrojos Historical Colombian Drug Cartels. *

Medellín Cartel The Medellín Cartel ( es, Cartel de Medellín) was a powerful and highly organized Colombian drug cartel and terrorist organization originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia that was founded and led by Pablo Escobar. It is often considered ...

* Cali Cartel * Norte del Valle Cartel * North Coast Cartel *

United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia The United Self-Defences of Colombia (''Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia'', or AUC, in Spanish) was a Colombian far-right paramilitary and drug trafficking group which was an active belligerent in the Colombian armed conflict during the period ...

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian confl ...

Peru

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

Venezuela

Historically Venezuela has been a path to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

for illegal drugs originating in Colombia, through Central America and

and Caribbean countries such as Haiti, the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

, and

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. According to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

, there has been an increase of cocaine trafficking through Venezuela since 2002. In 2005, Venezuela severed ties with the United States

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

(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

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. They were arrested in September 1992 at

Fiumicino airport Fiumicino () is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 80,500 (2019). It is known for being the site of Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, the busiest airport in Italy and the eleventh-bu ...

(Rome), Fonzi, Gaeton.
The Troublemaker
". ''

The Pennsylvania Gazette ''The Pennsylvania Gazette'' was one of the United States' most prominent newspapers from 1728 until 1800. In the several years leading up to the American Revolution the paper served as a voice for colonial opposition to British colonial rule, ...

'' (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'', 20 September 2010
Venezuela Deports Two Drug Kingpins, Calls US Drug Blacklist "Abusive and Interventionist"
* The

Cartel of the Suns A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...

According to Jackson Diehl. Deputy Editorial Page Editor of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', the Bolivarian government of Venezuela shelters "one of the world’s biggest drug cartels". There have also been allegations that former president Hugo Chávez and

Diosdado Cabello Diosdado Cabello Rondón (born 15 April 1963Vicepresidencia de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela also drug lord of Venezuela , atentamente alcardonDiosdado Cabello Rondón, accessed 19 April 2010) is a Venezuelan politician and current mem ...

being involved with drug trafficking. In May 2015, ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' 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 The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

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

, 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 Cachiros or Los Cachiros is the name of a Honduran criminal organization dedicated to drug trafficking. It was founded in the early 1990s by a group of cattle farmers in the departments of Colón and Olancho de Honduras. One of the leaders of th ...

El Salvador

Mara Salvatrucha Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, in the 1970s and 1980s. Originally, the gang was set up to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs in the Los Ange ...

Nicaragua

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

n drug cartels ''(see also Contras)'' ** Oscar Danilo Blandón

Asia

East Asia

Korea

* Korean criminal organizations ''(see also North Korea's illicit activities)''

Japan

= Japanese criminal organizations

= ''See also Kenji Doihara's criminal activities'' The

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...

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 住吉会 ** Sumiyoshi-ikka Shinwa-kai 住吉一家親和会 *** Kansuke Juni-daime 勘助十二代目 * Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi * Matsuba-kai 松葉会 *

Kyokuto-kai The is a yakuza organization based in Tokyo, Japan.

極東会 *

Dojin-kai The is a yakuza organization headquartered in Kurume, Fukuoka, on the Kyushu island of Japan,

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 沖縄旭琉会 * Kyushu Seido-kai 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 The is a yakuza organization based in Fukuoka Prefecture on the Kyushu island of Japan, with an estimated 80 active members. History The Taishu-kai was formed around 1954 under the name by , a mineworker who became the first president. The Ota G ...

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 is Japan's largest '' yakuza'' organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe before World War II. It is one of the largest criminal organizations i ...

** Goto-gumi 後藤組 ** Suishin-kai 水心会 * Ichiwa-kai 一和会 * San-daime Yamano-kai 三代目山野会 * Nakano-kai 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 The Tiandihui, the Heaven and Earth Society, also called Hongmen (the Vast Family), is a Chinese fraternal organization and historically a secretive folk religious sect in the vein of the Ming loyalist White Lotus Sect, the Tiandihui's ...

). 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 和字頭 *** Wo Shing Wo 和勝和 *** Wo On Lok (Shui Fong) 和安樂(水房) *** Wo Hop To 和合圖(老和) **

Sun Yee On Sun Yee On ( zh, t=新義安), or the New Righteousness and Peace Commercial and Industrial Guild, is one of the leading triads in Hong Kong and China. It has more than 25,000 members worldwide. It is also believed to be active in the UK, the ...

新義安(老新) ** Luen Group 聯字頭 ** Big Circle Gang 大圈 *

Sio Sam Ong Sio Sam Ong (小三王), literally meaning "Three Little Kings", or SSO, for short, is a leading Chinese triad in Malaysia; with a strong presence in the north (i.e. Kedah, Perlis). Mainly based in Penang, it is widely considered to be one of the ...

(小三王) * Chinese-American gangs ''(See also

Tongs Tongs are a type of tool used to grip and lift objects instead of holding them directly with hands. There are many forms of tongs adapted to their specific use. The first pair of tongs belongs to the Egyptians. Tongs likely started off as ...

)'' **

Wah Ching Wah Ching ( zh, s=华青, t=華青, first=t, j=Waa4 Cing1), meaning Chinese Youth, is a Chinese American criminal organization and street gang that was founded in San Francisco, California in 1964. The Wah Ching has been involved in crimes inclu ...

華青 ** Ping On ** Black Dragons 黑龍 ** Jackson Street Boys 積臣街小子 *

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

-based Triads ** United Bamboo Gang 竹聯幫 **

Four Seas Gang The Four Seas Gang, or FSG (四海幫, or ''Si Hai Bang'') is a triad society based in Taiwan. It includes mainland Chinese and their descendants who fled to Taiwan with the KMT. The Four Seas Gang has an estimated membership 10,000 in Taiwan. Its ...

四海幫 ** Celestial Alliance * Mainland Chinese crime groups ''(see also Hanlong Group)'' ** Chongqing group 重慶組 ** Defunct *** Honghuzi gangs ***

Green Gang The Green Gang () was a Chinese secret society and criminal organization, which was prominent in criminal, social and political activity in Shanghai during the early to mid 20th century. History Origins As a secret society, the origins and hist ...

青帮 * Triads 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 The Mong Tai Army ( my, မိုင်းတိုင်းတပ်မတော်; sometimes transcribed Muang Tai Army; abbreviated MTA), was an insurgent group consisting of soldiers from the Shan minority in Myanmar, founded in 1985 by ...

)'' *** Red Wa ''(see also

United Wa State Army The United Wa State Army (; my, ဝပြည် သွေးစည်းညီညွတ်ရေး တပ်မတော်, ), abbreviated as the UWSA or the UWS Army, is the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), the ''de facto' ...

and

National Democratic Alliance Army The National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) is an insurgent group in eastern Shan State, Myanmar (Burma). It is the armed wing of the Peace and Solidarity Committee (PSC). History The Mong La area had been under the control of several war ...

)'' *** Hawngleuk Militia *** Han cartel ** Laotian drug cartels ''(see also Ouane Rattikone)'' * Chao pho ** Red Wa * Filipino crime gangs ''(See also

Abu Sayyaf Abu Sayyaf (; ar, جماعة أبو سياف; ', ASG), officially known by the Islamic State as the Islamic State – East Asia Province, is a Jihadist militant and pirate group that follows the Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam. It is base ...

and

New People's Army The New People's Army ( fil, Bagong Hukbong Bayan), abbreviated NPA or BHB, is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), based primarily in the Philippine countryside. It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aim ...

)'' *** Kuratong Baleleng *** Waray-Waray gangs October 10, 2018 ***

Bahala Na Gang The Bahala Na Gang (BNG) is a street gang founded in the Philippines which subsequently spread to the United States. Early history The Bahala Na Gang was established in the early 1940s in Sampaloc, Manila, Philippines, by Divino Talastas, a na ...

*** Sigue Sigue Sputnik *** Defunct **** Putik gang * Cambodian crime gangs ** Teng Bunma organization * Malaysian crime gangs ** Mamak Gang * Secret societies in Singapore **

Ang Soon Tong Ang Soon Tong () is a secret society based in Singapore and Malaysia. According to a former police officer, the society was active as early as the 1950s, mainly in the Sembawang area. In 1998, a 19-year-old youth was arrested for setting up a we ...

昂很快塘 ** Ghee Hin Kongsi 酥油軒懸空寺 ** Hai San 海新 ** Wah Kee 華記 **

Ah Kong Ah Kong () was an organised crime and drugs syndicate that used to extensively control the European heroin trade in the 1970s to 1990s. Originating from Singapore, it was one of the world's largest drug syndicates, having been mainly based in Am ...

新加坡黑手黨

Vietnamese Xã Hội Đen

* Bình Xuyên *

Đại Cathay Đại Cathay, whose real name was Lê Văn Đại was a 1960s Saigon mobster, and was considered as the top or "number one" of the "Four Great Kings" of Saigon's criminal underworld before 1975. The Four Great Kings of the Saigon criminal underwor ...

's mafia during the 60s * Năm Cam's mafia of the 90s * Khánh Trắng's "Đồng Xuân Labor Union", a crime syndicate under the guise of a legal entity * Dung Hà'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 Organised crime in India refers to organised crime elements originating in India and active in many parts of the world. The purpose of organised crime in India, as elsewhere in the world, is monetary gain. Its virulent form in modern times is d ...

''(See also

Insurgency in Northeast India The Insurgency in Northeast India involves multiple armed separatist factions operating in some of India's Northeast India, northeastern states, which are connected to the rest of India by the Siliguri Corridor, a strip of land as narrow as ...

)'' **

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

*** 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 Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

*** Ansari gang *** Yadav gang **

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

*** Rai gang *** Ramachandra gang *** Jayaraj gang ** Kala Kaccha Gang ** Chaddi Baniyan Gang * Sri Lankan criminal groups * Pakistani mafia ''(See also

Peoples' Aman Committee The Peoples' Aman Committee ( ur, پیپلز امن کمیٹی) was an alleged militant group tied to the Pakistan People's Party and based in Karachi, Pakistan. The PAC was founded by the infamous Karachi gangster Rehman Dakait in 2008 and is ac ...

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bo ...

, Muttahida Qaumi Movement and ISI involvement with drugs)'' ** Chotu gang ** Lyari Gang *

Mafia Raj ''Mafia Raj'' is a term for a criminalized nexus (or "mafia") of government officials, elected politicians, business interests and other entities (such as law-enforcement authorities, non-governmental organisations, trade unions or criminal org ...

* Dacoit gangs ** Singh gang ** Veerappan gang ** Devi gang

Middle East

Israeli mafia The Israeli mafia ( he, מאפיה ישראלית, Mafiyah Yisrelit, or , , "organized crime in Israel") are the organized crime groups operating in Israel or consisting of Israeli members. There are 16 crime families operating in Israel, five ma ...

''(see also

Stern Gang Lehi (; he, לח"י – לוחמי חרות ישראל ''Lohamei Herut Israel – Lehi'', "Fighters for the Freedom of Israel – Lehi"), often known pejoratively as the Stern Gang,"This group was known to its friends as LEHI and to its enemie ...

)'' ** Abergil Crime Family משפחת הפשע אברג'יל ** Alperon crime family משפחת הפשע אלפרון ** Zeev Rosenstein organization ארגון זאב רוזנשטיין ** Palestinian organized crime ''(See also

Abu Nidal Organization The Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) is the most common name for the Palestinian nationalist militant group Fatah – The Revolutionary Council (''Fatah al-Majles al-Thawry''). The ANO is named after its founder Abu Nidal. It was created by a spli ...

)'' *** Doghmush clan *

Turkish mafia Turkish mafia ( tr, Türk mafyası) is the general term for criminal organizations based in Turkey and/or composed of (former) Turkish citizens. Crime groups with origins in Turkey are active throughout Western Europe (where a strong Turkish immi ...

** Crime groups in Turkey ''(see also Deep state and Yüksekova Gang)'' *** Kılıç gang *** Çakıcı gang *** Yaprak Family *** Topal organisation *** Söylemez Gang **Kurdish clans ''(see also Kurdistan Workers' Party#Involvement in drug trafficking)'' *** Baybaşin clan *** Cantürk crime family ** Turkish organised crime in Great Britain *** 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 ''(See also Lebanese Civil War militias)'' **Arab crime clans *** Miri-Clan *** Al-Zein Clan ** Ibrahim clan

Afghanistan

Golden Crescent The Golden Crescent is the name given to one of Asia's two principal areas of illicit opium production (with the other being the Golden Triangle). Located at the crossroads of Central, South, and Western Asia, this space covers the mountainous ...

** Afridi Network ** Afghan drug cartelsGlenny, Misha (2009) ''McMafia'', Vintage Books, ''(see also

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

)'' *** Noorzai Organization *** Khan organization *** Karzai organization (alleged) *** Bagcho organization

Central Asia

* Uzbek mafia ''(See also

Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU; uz, Ўзбекистон исломий ҳаракати/Oʻzbekiston islomiy harakati; russian: Исламское движение Узбекистана ) was a militant Islamist group formed in 1998 ...

)'' ** 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, '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 The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

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 Brighton Beach is a neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach is bounded by Coney Island proper at Ocean Parkway to the ...

*** Agron gang *** Nayfeld gang *** Balagula gang ** Mogilevich organization *

Brothers' Circle The Brothers' Circle or Bratski Krug ( rus, Братский круг) is a term used to refer to Russian organized crime, commonly the Russian mafia. It is a loose translation of the Russian term "Bratva" (Russian: Братва), which can also be ...

(Existence is debatable) * Russian mafia ''(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 The Orekhovskaya Organized Crime Group (russian: Ореховская организованная преступная группировка) was a powerful criminal organization based in Moscow active between the late 1980s and early 2000s. H ...

** St Petersburg'' (See also Baltik-Eskort)'' *** Tambov Gang ** Togliatti mafia ** Uralmash gang ** 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 The Guerrilla war in the Baltic states was an armed struggle which was waged by the Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian partisans, called the Forest Brothers (also: the "Brothers of the Wood" and the "Forest Friars"; et, metsavennad, lv, mež ...

)'' ** Kutaisi clan ** Tbilisi clan ** 21st Century Association * Armenian mafiaCBS News/Associated Press - Armenian Organized Crime Grows More Complex
/ref> ** Mirzoyan-Terdjanian organization **

Armenian Power Armenian Power 13, also known as AP, the Armenian Mob, or Armenian Mafia is an Armenian criminal organization and street gang founded and currently based in Los Angeles County, California.Krikorian, Michael (August 17, 1997)Violent Gang Is a Stai ...

* Azeri mafia ** Janiev organization *

Chechen mafia The Chechen Mafia ( ce, Нохчийн мафи, ''Noxçiyn mafi''; rus, Чеченская мафия, Chechenskaya mafiya) is one of the largest ethnic organized crime groups operating in the former Soviet Union next to established Russian mafi ...

''(See also

Special Purpose Islamic Regiment The Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (russian: Исламский полк особого назначения; abbreviated SPIR), also known as the al-Jihad-Fi-Sabililah Special Islamic Regiment, was a Chechen organization loosely formed by Che ...

and

Kadyrovtsy ) , patron = , motto = Akhmad is strong!(russian: Ахмат — сила!) , colors = A-TACS , colors_label = , march = , mas ...

)'' **

Obschina Obshchina ( rus, община, p=ɐpˈɕːinə, literally "commune") or mir (russian: мир, literally "society", among other meanings), or selskoye obshchestvo (russian: сельское общество, literally "rural community", official ...

** Labazanov gang

Europe

Sweden

* Original Gangsters * Fucked For Life * Uppsalamaffian * Chosen Ones * Werewolf Legion * Asir * Vårvädersligan

Netherlands

* Organized crime in the Netherlands ** Bruinsma drug gang ** Holleeder gang ** Moroccan mafia

France

* French Milieu ''(See also Service d'Action Civique)'' **

Corsican mafia The Corsican mafia is a set of criminal groups originating from Corsica, which are partially independent of but also closely tied to and participating heavily in both the French underworld and Italian Mafia. The Corsican mafia is an influential ...

Gayraud, Jean-François (2009) ''Showbiz, people et corruption'', Odile Jacob, ''(see also National Liberation Front of Corsica)'' ***

Unione Corse The Unione Corse is a Corsican mafia criminal organization operating primarily out of Corsica and Marseille, France. Members of this organization, along with various other crime families, maintained the French Connection – a heroin trade monop ...

*** Brise de Mer gang ** Les Caïds Des Cités *** Faïd gang *** The Barbarians ** Wigs gang ** North African Brigade ''(see also

Carlingue The Carlingue (or French Gestapo) were French auxiliaries who worked for the Gestapo, Sicherheitsdienst and Geheime Feldpolizei during the German occupation of France in the Second World War. The group, which was based at 93 rue Lauriston in th ...

)'' ** Tractions Avant gang ** Bande des Trois Canards ** French gypsy gangs *** Hornec gang

Greece

* Greek mafia

Ireland

*Ireland **

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

*** Cahill gangNewton, Michael (2007) ''Gangsters Encyclopedia'', Anova Books, *** Gilligan gang *** Foley gang *** Hyland gang *** Dunne gang *** The Westies ** Limerick *** McCarthy-Dundon *** Keane-Collopy ** Rathkeale Rovers ** Kinahan Organised Crime Group

Spain

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

''(see also ETA)'' ** Galician mafia ** Romani clans *** El Clan De La Paca

Poland

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

''(See also Group 13)'' ** Pruszków mafia ** Wołomin mafia

Slovakia

* Slovak mafia ** Hungaro-Slovak mafia

Hungary

* Raffael clan * Sztojka clan

Czech Republic

** Mrázek organization ** Krejčíř organization

Italy

* Sicilian Mafia ** Sicilian Mafia Commission ** Mandamenti ***''See also List of Sicilian Mafia clans'' ***

*** Inzerillo Mafia clan *** Corleonesi ***

Greco Mafia clan The Greco Mafia family () is historically one of the most influential Mafia clans in Sicily and Calabria, from the late 19th century. The extended family ruled both in Ciaculli and Croceverde Giardini, two south-eastern outskirts of Palermo in t ...

*** Motisi Mafia clan * 'Ndrangheta *

La Provincia The ''Camera di Controllo'' (Board of Control), is a collegial body of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria. It is also known as ''La Provincia'' (the Province) or ''Camera di Compensazione'' (compensation board). It is composed o ...

**''See also List of 'ndrine'' ** Honoured Society (

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

) ** Mammoliti 'ndrina ** Bellocco 'ndrina ** Cataldo 'ndrina **

** Cordì 'ndrina ** De Stefano 'ndrina **

Pesce 'ndrina The Pesce '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 coast. Powerful 'Ndrangheta clan The Pesce clan is one of the most powerful clans in th ...

Barbaro 'ndrina The Barbaro 'ndrina is a powerful clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina belongs to the '' locale'' of the town of Platì. According to the Direzione Investigativa Antimafia (DIA - the Itali ...

** Piromalli 'ndrina ** Serraino 'ndrina ** Siderno Group * CamorraRoberto Saviano (2006) ''Gomorrah: Italy's Other Mafia'', Mondadori, . ** Secondigliano Alliance *** Licciardi clan ***

Contini clan The Contini clan is a powerful Neapolitan Camorra clan operating in the city of Naples, and more specifically in the area of the Naples Central Station. The clan's traditional powerbase is the Arenaccia district. It also operates in the Poggiorea ...

*** Lo Russo clan *** Mallardo clan **

Di Lauro Clan The Di Lauro clan () is an Italian crime clan, part of the Camorra in Naples. The clan operates in the neighbourhoods of Secondigliano, Scampìa, Miano, Marianella, Piscinola, and in the adjacent municipalities of Casavatore, Melito, Arzano, ...

** Casalesi clan ** Fabbrocino clan ** Vollaro clan ** Scissionisti di Secondigliano ** La Torre clan ** Polverino clan ** Rinaldi clan ** De Luca Bossa clan ** Aprea-Cuccaro clan **

Cesarano clan The Cesarano clan is a Camorra clan from the town of Castellammare di Stabia, in the Metropolitan City of Naples. History The founder and important figure of the clan was Ferdinando Cesarano (born August 26, 1954), aka "Nanduccio 'e Ponte Persi ...

** Puca clan * Sacra Corona Unita *

Società foggiana The Società foggiana, also known as ''Mafia Foggiana'' (''Foggian mafia'') and the fifth mafia (in addition to Cosa Nostra in Sicily, the ’Ndrangheta in Calabria, the Camorra in Campania and the Sacra Corona Unita in greater Apulia, from which ...

Stidda The Stidda (; ) is a Sicilian & Maltese Mafia-type criminal organization and criminal society centered in the central-southern part of Sicily & Malta. Members are known as ''stiddari'' or ''stiddaroli''. It is most active in the rural parts o ...

* Mala del Brenta *

Banda della Magliana The Banda della Magliana (, ''Magliana Gang'') is an Italian criminal organization based in Rome. It was founded in 1975. Given by the media, the name refers to the original neighborhood, the Magliana, of some of its members. The ''Banda dell ...

* Mafia Capitale *

Sinti The Sinti (also ''Sinta'' or ''Sinte''; masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintesa'') are a subgroup of Romani people mostly found in Germany and Central Europe that number around 200,000 people. They were traditionally itinerant, but today o ...

Casamonica clan *Clan Spada di Ostia * Milanese gangs ** Banda della Comasina ** 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 Albanian mafia or Albanian organized crime ( sq, Mafia Shqiptare) are the general terms used for criminal organizations based in Albania or composed of ethnic Albanians. Albanian organized crime is active in Europe, North America, South America ...

** Kosovan mafia **

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

*** Gang of Çole *** Gang of Gaxhai ***

Gang of Pusi i Mezinit Gang of Pusi i Mezinit () was a criminal group with activities throughout southern Albania. Origin of the members of this band was from across the south of the country. Most of them had been imprisoned during the communist regime for crimes. Call ...

*** Lazarat marijuana growers **

Rudaj Organization The Rudaj Organization is the Albanian mafia in the New York City metro area, named for the man accused of being its kingpin, Alex Rudaj of Yorktown, New York. The Rudaj Organization, called "The Corporation" by its members, was started in 1993 ...

(New York City) ** Gang of Ismail Lika ** Dobroshi gang (International) **

Naserligan Naserligan (''Naser Gang''), named after the leader Naser Dzeljilji, is a criminal gang in Sweden. It is primarily active in Gothenburg. The criminal activities of the gang include drug trafficking, gambling and protection racketing. Several perso ...

Dagens Nyheter - Ligorna har kopplat greppet om Sverige
(Swedish) (Sweden) ** K-Falangen (Sweden) *

Bosnian mafia The Bosnian mafia (or Bosnian organized crime) is the body of illegal gangs and criminal organisations operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina and within the Bosnian diaspora. Bosnian organised crime figures operate mostly in Europe. Bosnian organi ...

** Prazina gangSiegel, Dina (2003) ''Global organized crime: trends and developments'', Springer, ** Bajramović gang ** Delalić gang ** M-Falangen (Sweden) *

Bulgarian mafia The Bulgarian mafia ( bg, мафия) is a series of organized crime elements originating from Bulgaria. Organized crime groups and activities Modern organized crime is associated with the early 1990s, when weak power and continuous change of go ...

''(see also

Multigroup Multigroup was a Conglomerate (company), business conglomerate in Bulgaria. Its founder is the Bulgarian businessman Iliya Pavlov, who was its leader until his assassination on March 7, 2003. In 1995, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republ ...

)'' ** VIS **

SIC The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; "thus", "just as"; in full: , "thus was it written") inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any e ...

** Karamanski gang ** TIM ** Naglite ** Rashkov clan *

Serbian mafia Serbian organized crime or Serbian mafia ( sr, Cpпска мафија / Srpska mafija) are various criminal organizations based in Serbia or composed of ethnic Serbs in the former Yugoslavia and Serbian diaspora. The organizations are primari ...

** Arkan clan **

Zemun Clan The Zemun Clan (Serbian Cyrillic: Земунски клан) is one of the Belgrade clans of the Serbian mafia. It is named for the gang's base in Zemun, a municipality of Belgrade. The peak of the clan's power and influence occurred between 199 ...

** Joca Amsterdam gang ** Magaš clan ** Giška gang ** Pink Panthers ** Serb mafia in Scandinavia *** Kotur mob *** Yugoslav Brotherhood * Montenegrin mafia ''(see also allegations of Milo Đukanović's involvement in cigarette smuggling)'' * Macedonian mafia ** Frankfurt mafia **Bajrush klan **Nezim klan' * Romanian mafia ** Băhăian organisation

Great Britain

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

** Adams crime family **

The Richardson Gang The Richardson Gang was an English crime gang based in South London, England in the 1960s. Also known as the "Torture Gang", they had a reputation as some of London's most sadistic gangsters. Their alleged specialities included pulling teeth o ...

Morton, 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

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

Africa

Americas

North America

Canada

Mexico

United States

=American Mafia

=Active crime families

=Defunct mafia families

= Jewish mafia

=African-American organized crime In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, African-American organized crime emerged following the first and second large-scale migration of African-Americans from the South to major cities of the Northeast, Midwest, and later the West Coast. I ...

=Irish Mob The Irish Mob (also known as the Irish mafia or Irish organized crime) is a collective of organized crime syndicates composed of ethnic Irish members which operate primarily in Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia, and have been in ...

Caribbean

South America

Brazil

Bolivia

Colombia

Peru

Venezuela

Central America

Honduras

El Salvador

Nicaragua

Asia

East Asia

Korea

Japan

= Japanese criminal organizations

East Asia

Southeast Asia

Vietnamese Xã Hội Đen

South Asia

Middle East

Afghanistan

Central Asia

Eurasia

Russia

Caucasus

Europe

Sweden

Netherlands

France

Greece

Ireland

Spain

Poland

Slovakia

Hungary

Czech Republic

Italy

Balkans

Great Britain

Ukraine

Lithuania

Estonia

Transnistria

Australia

References

Further reading

External links

=
African-American organized crime In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, African-American organized crime emerged following the first and second large-scale migration of African-Americans from the South to major cities of the Northeast, Midwest, and later the West Coast. I ...

=
Irish Mob The Irish Mob (also known as the Irish mafia or Irish organized crime) is a collective of organized crime syndicates composed of ethnic Irish members which operate primarily in Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia, and have been in ...