NCJ Number
120387
Date Published
1989
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Drug trafficking in Canada and worldwide is controlled largely by well-organized international crime syndicates for profit, power, and influence.
Abstract
There are over 2 million illicit drug users in Canada who represent every socioeconomic sector of society and who frequently turn to other crimes to pay for their expensive habit. The most prominent internationally-based crime organizations in Canada include the Mafia-La Costa Nostra, Chinese Triads, the Colombian Mafia, motorcycle gangs, Asian groups, and Canadian ethnic-based drug trafficking groups. Crimes committed by these organizations and groups produce massive profits, but leave no victim behind to report to law enforcement authorities that a financial loss has been incurred. Crimes of violence such as serious assault, property damage, and homicide may be committed as part of organized drug trafficking activities to intimidate the public or individuals, eliminate witnesses and informants, acquire or secure territory, and enforce directives on customers and group members. The combined effect of drug trafficking's high profits, the use of money laundering systems, and investment in legitimate businesses has enabled organized crime to undermine legitimate trade institutions and to threaten government integrity. Canadian criminal laws generally focus on the detection, apprehension, and conviction of individuals involved in specific criminal acts. In response to these laws, effective police action designed to prosecute and dismantle organized crime groups must include intelligence collection. Further, effective action at the international level to prevent organized crime must involve the establishment of international standards to insure that no country can be used as a haven for organized criminals and their profits.