Networks of Collaborating Criminals: Assessing the Structural Vulnerability of Drug Markets

Abstract

Uncovering the resiliency of ties between individuals involved in criminal enterprise will contribute to our understanding of how illicit markets function. To examine activities along the entire drug market commodity chain, this study extracted information about individuals involved or associated with trafficking (1,998 people) from police intelligence reports generated from 2004 to 2006. Significant differences were found for centrality and cohesion across market niches. Results show that the highest fragmentation potential lies with individuals who are involved with smuggling, supply, and financing, particularly when these individuals are also involved in other niches. Variability in small-world and scale-free properties suggest that interdiction strategies must be tailored to niche characteristics.

‘C’ is for commercial collaboration: enterprise and structure in the ‘middle market’ of counterfeit alcohol distribution

“…small flexible groups operating at the mid-level of local and regional trade, and freelancing individuals hired for courier activity at the retail level' ( [32]:273)…”

Dark networks : criminal collaboration in Australian police forces

“…As a result, few studies have investigated the dynamic nature of criminal networks. In particular, previous studies have focused on investigating the dynamic nature of specific criminal enterprises, such as the small arms trade (Malm & Bichler, 2011) and terrorist networks (Everton & Cunningham, 2013;Xu, Hu, & Chen, 2009). To date, there are no empirical studies that investigate the dynamic nature of police corruption networks.…”

“…In the context of criminal networks, these central actors can play a large role in the operations and efficiency of the network. For example, Malm and Bichler's (2011) recent study of the roles (or niches) in drug trafficking, in particular in production and transport, found centrality was highest among actors in the complex transport and supply niches. They further suggest that actors in the complex transport and supply niche are the most central actors of the network and, as a consequence of their centrality, they both play a critical role in the overall operations of the network.…”

“…They also found that changes to the network structure also changed the centrality of individuals in the network. Malm and Bichler's (2011) study used the Small Arms Survey to map out the small arms trade networks between 120 countries over a six-year period. The study found that external forces, such as weapon availability and market infrastructure, were the driving force behind the changes to the network over the six-year period.…”

“…These studies suggest that organised crime syndicates display network structures rather than the traditional hierarchical structures (Morselli, 2009a). In particular, studies have uncovered that some organised crime groups operate through different network structures (centralised versus decentralised, loose versus close connections, cliques or sub-groups) (Agreste et al, 2016;Bouchard, 2007;Lauchs, Keast, & Yousefpour, 2011;Malm & Bichler, 2011). Prior research has also found that some criminal networks are structured around roles and key players within the network (Bruinsma & Bernasco, 2004;Kleemans, 2008;Morselli, 2001).…”