Throughout the world, it is the most adventurous wholesale traders and risk-takers in the licit economy who are most closely associated with criminality in popular perception. Being at the heart of the global economy, trade is a key component in the world of organised crime. ibid.
The sustained and hideously violent rape of the animal, vegetable and above all mineral resources of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo during the 1990s and the early 2000s. The multi-billion-dollar enterprise includes politicians, gangsters, businessmen and large corporations, who all work relentlessly to sate both their unquenchable avarice and the global consumer’s equally rapacious demand for mobile phones and things that sparkle. ibid.
Western access to commodities like coltan depended on the offices of organised-crime groups working throughout southern and western Africa. ibid.
Most major organised syndicates are made up of clusters of dozens of minor conspiracies, which move a product or service a little further down the chain of distribution. ibid.
A complex interplay between the regulated and unregulated global economy ... Ordinary citizens in the West are much more closely connected to major criminal industries than they might otherwise realise. ibid.
But with narcotics, where demand is immense and relentless, prohibition drives the market towards the only place capable of satisfying that demand and regulating the industry: organised crime. ibid.
If a country supports prohibition, it is also guaranteeing that on the supply side all profits will accrue to underground networks; and on the demand side it is guaranteeing that any social or public-health problems associated with drug-taking will only come to light in the great majority of cases once they are out of control. ibid.
In order to understand and hence combat organised crime, it is important to recognise the distinct activities involved. ibid.
If we fail to construct an adequate regulatory mechanism – that is, some form of global governance – then organised crime and corruption will combine with protectionism and chauvinism to engender a very unstable and very dangerous world. ibid.
By using prohibited narcotics, consumers are not only contributing to huge criminal profits, but they bear indirect responsibility for the trail of blood that marks every stage of its journey. ibid.
The urgent need for greater financial regulation in the financial markets: in a world where legitimate institutions are unable to account properly for their dealings, the ability of criminals to launder their money through this merry-go-round of speculation is greatly increased. ibid.
It is not globalisation in itself that has spurred the spectacular growth of organised crime in recent years, but global markets that are either insufficiently regulated, especially in the financial sector, or too closely regulated, as in the labour and agricultural markets. ibid.
My enemies have made it harder for me to export my heroin from the north, McMafia I, BBC 2018, opening scene
Your father – he decided on London … I follow him everywhere. ibid. uncle
Let me guess – you’re a gangsta. ibid. bird in disco
I’m a banker not a gangsta. ibid. hero
Perhaps I can give you better terms and help you with your cash flow. McMafia II, Semiyon to Mumbai dude
Prague is the gateway to the Russian market … The counterfeit and smuggling business is worth millions. ibid.
Three months ago we had everyone in Mumbai in our pocket. Now Chopra says he needs more money for bribes. McMafia III, gangsta
Let me think about it. And you should too. McMafia IV, Semiyon to Alex
It won’t be long before Vadim traces it back to you and me. I can still call it off. ibid.
You slept with my dad? McMafia V, Faye to Masha
We’re not strong enough to take on Vadim without their help. ibid. Alex
There’s no telling how far you will go. ibid. Semiyon to Alex
I don’t think this is over. McMafia VI, Alex to father
Maybe you should move out for a while. ibid. Alex to Rebecca
Masha is pregnant with Papa’s child. ibid. Faye to Alex
Vadim almost took everything from me. McMafia VII, Alex’s father
I’m not paranoid: it was a threat. It was Vadim telling me it isn’t over. ibid. Alex
Would you be prepared to go to Moscow? ibid. Embassy bloke to Alex
Wait over there please. McMafia VIII, Russian customs to Alex
Vadim’s daughter was killed. I had nothing to do with it. ibid. Alex’s father to embassy contact
You have to get out of Russia. ibid. Alex’s father to Alex
In return for an open door and protection for your shipments we’d ask for a 50% split on every consignment … I’ll manage the sale and distribution of your product. ibid. Alex
Vienna December 21st 1975: The Organisation of Oil Exporting Countries, OPEC, is meeting to once again raise the price of oil. Recreated here is one of history’s boldest terrorist operations: Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, alias Carlos, with his gang quietly enter OPEC headquarters. Their plan: to hold the powerful oil ministers hostage and kill the two most important members … Who is Carlos? How did he dare dictate terms to OPEC and become the Most Wanted Man in the world? In Search of s4e2 … Carlos, The Most Wanted Man in the World, History 1979
He holds 62 hostages at gunpoint in the conference room. ibid.
Bombings, assassination attempts and for the coldblooded killing of at least six men. ibid.
Years of terrorist crimes in Europe. ibid.
Paris June 28 1973: Do you have time for breakfast? Carlos 2010 starring Edgar Ramirez & Alexander Scheer & Nora von Waldstatten & Ahmad Kaabour & Christoph Bach & Susanne Wuest & Anna Thalbach & Julia Hummer et al, director Olivier Assayas, opening line
No, look at Che. He ended up dead and he had a lot more experience than us. ibid. her & him
Weapons are made to be touched. ibid. him to her
He fingered me right before my eyes. ibid. bloke to boss
I decide who lives and who dies, not you. ibid. boss to bloke
Our leader Saddam Hussein talks about you a great deal. He says you are brave and cool-headed. ibid. old bloke with cigar
Johannes Weinrich was arrested in 1994 in Yemen, then extradited to Germany. He is currently serving a life sentence in a Berlin prison. ibid. caption
That guy’s a gangsta? I’m a gangsta! The Sopranos s1e10: A Hit is a Hit, Chris, HBO 1999
Being a gangsta – what does it mean anyway? ibid. neighbour
A feeling of pending doom? The Sopranos s1e11: Nobody Knows Anything, Dr Melfi to Tony
His dad’s really a gangster? The Sopranos s6e8: Johnny Cakes, bird at bar
If you did cocaine in America in the ’80s, it almost certainly passed through Miami. Millions of dollars’ worth were smuggled in … Rival gangs battled for their share of the drugs profits making Miami the murder capital of America. Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller s1e2: Cocaine, National Geographic 2020
We enter a lawless region that produces roughly one-fifth of the world’s cocaine: Vraem, Peru: Valley of the apurimac, Ene and Mantaro rivers. ibid.
These labs are the economic engines for the local communities. Without them, there would be little demand for coca leaves. ibid.
My job is to deliver suitcases with counterfeit bills, fake dollars. They being me the suitcase already packed, they call me up. Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller s1e3, Counterfeitters, National Geographic 2020
Lima, Peru: Every city has its secrets. Lima is no different. Over the last decade a new criminal enterprise has taken root, and a new breed of gangsta craftsman has emerged. ibid.
Incredibly, it’s estimated that 60% of all fake US bills are produced in Peru. ibid.