NCJ Number
248167
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 54 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2014 Pages: 722-740
Date Published
September 2014
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This is the first empirical study of a criminal network that trafficks in statues looted from temples in Cambodia.
Abstract
Under the proposed network model, antiquities trafficking networks might be viewed as more stable, hierarchical and repetitively functioning supply chains rather than highly fluid organizations portrayed in recent papers on illicit antiquities. The looters themselves are typically low-level criminals who are paid by the chief organizer of the looting, who determines what will be looted and how much a looter will be paid. The second stage of the networking involves the transfer of looted statutes into a trafficking channel that has been fixed for several decades in terms of its roles, the occupants of those roles, and their trading relationships. Innovations or changes in trafficking patterns are discouraged by the veteran traffickers. The involvement of organized criminals in this supply chain has had the effect of encouraging the promise of long-term agreements where enforcement includes violent reactions when breaches occur. The trafficking chain of looted statutes crosses the border of Cambodia into Thailand and ultimately to Bangkok, where an established buyer has been a major customer for looted statuary for decades. At this stage of the network, profit margins widen. In some cases the dealer commissions fakes or copies that are sold as genuine, while the dealer keeps genuine looted statuary for himself, thus becoming a collector. The methodology of this case study is described. 2 figures and 52 references