NCJ Number
171333
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 25 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1998) Pages: 56-59
Date Published
1998
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Russian organized crime involves hundreds of groups that all act independently; it has the potential to become the most powerful and feared organized crime group in the 21st century.
Abstract
Some 500,000 immigrants from the former Soviet Union are estimated to have settled in the New York metropolitan region over the last 20 years. The Brooklyn neighborhood of Brighton Beach has extensive Russian organized crime activity. Some 400 well-organized gangs operate throughout Russia and have exported their activities to the United States and other countries. Corruption permeated almost every aspect of life in the former Soviet Union; one researcher comments that Russians are expert at paper manipulation and forging documents. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified Russian organized crime syndicates and plans to address Russian organized crime with the same concerted effort it has made against other groups. The FBI has worked closely with the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. Law enforcement officials from the United States and Russia have also teamed to investigate Colombian drug cartels that are allied with Russian mobsters. The language barrier and difficulties in locating the controlling obstacles are major obstacles the FBI experiences in gathering intelligence and addressing Russian organized crime. FBI Director Louis Free also notes that a broad international law enforcement effort is needed to deal successfully with crime problems of foreign origin that arrive suddenly in the United States. Photograph