ALGERIA: Algiers 1937
Pepe le Moko lives in the Casbah ... like a crawling anthill, a jungle of houses, a labyrinth of narrow passages and winding alleys rotten with vermin and decay and the filth of centuries. Algiers 1937 starring Charles Boyer & Hedy Lamarr & Sigrid Gurie & Joseph Calleia & Alan Hale & Gene Lockhart & Walter Kingsford & Paul Harvey & Stanley Fields et al, director John Cromwell, rozzer
ANGOLA: Misha Glenny -
It was the perfect trade circle. Weapons manufactured mainly in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union ... would be flown into the conflict areas of Africa. Russian pilots were especially welcome as they often knew the terrain well from the Cold War period. The weapons were traded for diamonds ... The only people who lost out were the dead and maimed Angolans. Misha Glenny, McMafia
BELIZE: Ross Kemp on Gangs TV -
An ex-British colony. It’s only a small country but it plays a significant part in the international multi-billion-dollar business of cocaine smuggling. Ross Kemp on Gangs s4e3: Belize, Sky 2008
Belize has become a central part of the narcotics highway. ibid.
Belize City, home to some three thousand gangsters ... population of just sixty-nine thousand. ibid.
Belize is a city on the verge of anarchy. ibid.
There are twenty-three gangs in this small city. ibid.
The police coastguard have eight boats to create a deterrent. ibid.
Dog Pound are aptly named because of their reputation for biting their enemies. ibid.
One of the most feared gangs in Belize City: George Street. ibid.
BOLIVIA: Misha Glenny -
The 300-mile railroad wide west from the Brazilian border through dense Amazonian jungle in eastern Bolivia is known as El tren del muerte because it is repeatedly targeted by bandits with scant regard for human life. Thieves perpetrate all manner of scams on this route. Misha Glenny, McMafia
The Santa Cruz bust (tons of cocaine) was the culmination of Operation Moonlight, which included the cooperation of British intelligence, the Bulgarian police, Washington’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Spanish police and the Bolivian Special Force. ibid.
BOSNIA: Misha Glenny -
Bosnia-Hercegovina was mired in an early scandal involving UN peacekeepers and trafficked women, as well as developing a reputation as a regional money-laundering centre. Misha Glenny, McMafia
BURMA: Misha Glenny -
Burma, the world’s second-largest opium-growing region after Afghanistan – a significant part of the resistance to Burma’s foul military junta is financed by two less-than-salubrious trades: trafficking in heroin and trafficking in women. Misha Glenny, McMafia
CONGO: Viva Riva! 2001
The city has run out of fuel. And it’s going to get worse. That’s when we’ll take advantage and sell our merchandise. Viva Riva! 2011 starring Patsha Bay & Manie Malone & Hoji Fortuna & Marlene Longage & Alex Herabo et al, director Djo Tunda Wa Munga, opening scene
Riva, you’re destroying yourself for women. ibid. old bird
CYPRUS: Art of the Heist TV -
In the 1970s the black market in religious artefacts had exploded into a multi-million-dollar industry. The war-torn island of Cyprus was being picked clean. This is the story of how a sophisticated ring of smugglers ripped a sacred mosaic from the walls of a church then tried to hawk it on the open market. Little did they realise that their greed would trigger a global clamour for its recovery that would culminate in a daring police raid which uncovered $40 million in stolen artefacts and change the trade in antiquities for ever Art of the Heist s1e5: Den of Antiquities
The theft had all the hallmarks of a professional smuggling ring. ibid.
Inside the crates were fragments of a young Christ, Matthew, James and the archangel that had so captivated her [Peg L Goldberg]. ibid.
Judge Noland ruled that the mosaics belonged to the Church of Cyprus. ibid.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Misha Glenny - Gangster Ka 2015 -
Belchev and his henchmen had tortured and raped each of the forty women who were rescued by police when they finally raided the Dubi brothel in the summer of 1997. During their imprisonment, the women were required to earn a minimum of £2,000 per month (naturally they never saw any of this money). Misha Glenny, McMafia
Nod that you’ll pay and you won’t become a cripple. Gangster Ka 2015 starring Hynek Cermak & Vlastina Svatkova & Predrag Bjelac & Filp Capka & Alexej Pysko & Jaromir Hanzlik & Miroslav Etzler & Tomas Jerabek & Zdenek Zak & Jan Lasak & Jan Revai & Brian Caspe et al, director Jan Pachl, opening scene
In Moravia he traded in fuels; didn’t pay the VAT. It was hard to catch him because he has people in his pocket. ibid. commentary
Kay was in a tight corner so he needed to secure his wealth. ibid.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Dope TV -
In 2016 smugglers shipped up to 120 tons of cocaine into the Dominican Republic. Dope s1e1: In This Business You Have No Friends Only Enemies, Netflix 2018
A kilo of cocaine in the Dominican Republic: $10,000. ibid.
DUBAI: Misha Glenny -
Dubai’s discreet attitude to cash has enabled the city to attract leading figures from industries beyond sports and showbiz ... Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, renowned as the Merchant of Death, used to park his planes in Sharjah ... The largest cigarette customer in the Balkans established his offices in the Burj al-Arab. Misha Glenny, McMafia
And although Dawood was unable to travel to Bombay, he succeeded from his base in the Gulf in consolidating and expanding the biggest criminal network Bombay had ever seen. ibid.
For Dawood Ibrahim, Dubai was the perfect retreat ... to make his core business activity – gold smuggling. ibid.
It did not take Dawood long to choose a new product ... and started trafficking in drugs, chiefly in heroin bound for the European market and Mandrax for South Africa. And in Dawood’s part of the world, if you want to guarantee the success of a narcotics business, there is only one organisation you need to cozy up to – the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s secret service. ibid.
Mumbai’s gang warfare was now being played out in the exclusive areas of Dubai and the authorities decided upon drastic measures. ibid.
EAST TIMOR: Ross Kemp on Gangs: East Timor TV -
This country has all the ingredients of a top tourist destination ... There’s trouble in paradise. A fifth of the population are said to be gang members, and violence is endemic. Ross Kemp on Gangs s3e4: East Timor, Sky 2007
Arson being one of the weapons used by the gangs. Along with bows and arrows, poison darts and machetes. ibid.
The gangs are gaining political influence. ibid.
Even the unaffiliated had a gang name: Zero Zero. ibid.
The island of Timor lies between two of the region’s superpowers – Indonesia and Australia. ibid.
Signs of gang activity are everywhere. ibid.
Despite the violence this is a deeply religious society. ibid.
Something has to be done about the poverty and the unemployment here. ibid.
IRAQ: Misha Glenny -
Three years later, Viktor Bout was back in the thick of things. Only this time, he was providing his services to the American war effort in Iraq. Misha Glenny, McMafia