The Architecture of Drug Trafficking: Network Forms of Organisation in the Colombian Cocaine Trade

Kenney, Michael J.

doi:10.1080/17440570701507794

Cited by 134 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Overall, studies to date have noted that the UK cocaine market has a complex and fluid structure (Pearson and Hobbs, 2001;Zaitch, 2002a;Kenney, 2007;Matrix Knowledge Group, 2007). Likewise, our data found that the market is structured by flexible and often loosely organised criminal networks.…”

Section: Cocaine Market Structure(s) and Actorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Coke on Tick”: exploring the cocaine market in the UK through the lens of financial management

Hall

Antonopoulos

2017

JFC

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Purpose This paper aims to offer detailed preliminary data and analysis that focuses specifically on the structures and financial aspects of the UK cocaine market. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on in-depth interviews with – among others – four active criminal entrepreneurs involved in powder cocaine supply in the UK. Furthermore, along with a review of relevant literature and open sources, in-depth interviews were undertaken with a range of experts with knowledge of the cocaine market. These experts include law enforcement agents and independent academics/researchers who have researched the cocaine market in the UK and internationally. Findings The cocaine market is a fragmented business dependent on networks of individual entrepreneurs and groups. At the core of collaborations often lie family, ethnic or kinship relationships and relationships forged within legal businesses and in prison. Capital investment practices in this market are flexible, “messy” and mutating, and money comes from a range of different sources. Credit is an integral feature of the cocaine business in the UK. The financial management of the cocaine trade is a result of (and reflects) a number of factors, such as the fragmented and decentralised nature of the trade. Originality/value Empirical research into financial aspects of organised crime manifestations is important for the assumptions that are part of public debate to be tested. In addition, understanding the broader range of financial aspects of organised crime is an important component of the process of crimes for gain and can contribute to both better investigation and better prevention.

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Section: Cocaine Market Structure(s) and Actorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Coke on Tick”: exploring the cocaine market in the UK through the lens of financial management

Hall

Antonopoulos

2017

JFC

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“…Often, members of drug cartels try to expand their networks through personal relationships (Abadinsky, 2010) by recruiting acquaintances, relatives and family members (Kenney, 2007). Organized crime groups also use social network and web sites such as MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube to entice recruits with images portraying a satisfactory organized crime lifestyle (Harris, 2010).…”

Section: Figure 2 Social Network Expansionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Criminal groups expand their network in order to be more successful in the illegal business of drug trafficking business (Kenney, 2007) but the size of organized crime syndicates may vary depending on existing opportunities (Albanese, 2004). Often, members of drug cartels try to expand their networks through personal relationships (Abadinsky, 2010) by recruiting acquaintances, relatives and family members (Kenney, 2007).…”

Section: Figure 2 Social Network Expansionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The risk associated with penetrating the underground organizations certainly contributes to the limited research on the nature of social networks and social capital regarding drug trafficking groups. Though researchers have focused on different networking aspects of drug trafficking groups (Williams, 1998;McIllwain, 1999;Grootaert & Van Bastelaer, 2002;Kenney, 2007;Morselli, 2009), how drug trafficking groups are networked, continue their business and increase social capital has been relatively undocumented. This failure can be rooted in misunderstanding the social network structure of drug trafficking organizations (Williams, 1998) and the methods to stop drug abuse (Kappeler & Potter, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The analysis of social capital and social networking of drug trafficking

Yeşilyurt

2014

IJHS

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Transnational organized crime (TOC), such as drug trafficking, has been a sustained problem for society because of the visible impact on drug abuse that is evident in media coverage. However, research on the development of drug trafficking organizations through clandestine social networks has been limited. Consequently, this study applies Social Network Theory to significant aspects of drug trafficking-business economics and social networks inside drug trafficking groups. The analysis identifies similarities between the legal business and criminal organizations that can lead to favorable methods of criminal justice intervention.

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“…The closer a criminal is to visible street-level activity, the more vulnerable he or she is to detection and arrest. As such, senior criminals will seek to maintain a buffer between themselves and street criminals [59][60][61]. Due to their visibility, the latter are assumed to have greater access to potential recruits and to aggressively seek new underlings in order to avoid their own exposure to law enforcement.…”

Section: Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth and containment of a hierarchical criminal network

et al. 2016

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We model the hierarchical evolution of an organized criminal network via antagonistic recruitment and pursuit processes. Within the recruitment phase, a criminal kingpin enlists new members into the network, who in turn seek out other affiliates. New recruits are linked to established criminals according to a probability distribution that depends on the current network structure. At the same time, law enforcement agents attempt to dismantle the growing organization using pursuit strategies that initiate on the lower level nodes and that unfold as self-avoiding random walks. The global details of the organization are unknown to law enforcement, who must explore the hierarchy node by node. We halt the pursuit when certain local criteria of the network are uncovered, encoding if and when an arrest is made; the criminal network is assumed to be eradicated if the kingpin is arrested. We first analyze recruitment and study the large scale properties of the growing network; later we add pursuit and use numerical simulations to study the eradication probability in the case of three pursuit strategies, the time to first eradication and related costs. Within the context of this model, we find that eradication becomes increasingly costly as the network increases in size and that the optimal way of arresting the kingpin is to intervene at the early stages of network formation. We discuss our results in the context of dark network disruption and their implications on possible law enforcement strategies.

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The Architecture of Drug Trafficking: Network Forms of Organisation in the Colombian Cocaine Trade

Cited by 134 publications

References 2 publications

“Coke on Tick”: exploring the cocaine market in the UK through the lens of financial management

“Coke on Tick”: exploring the cocaine market in the UK through the lens of financial management

The analysis of social capital and social networking of drug trafficking

Growth and containment of a hierarchical criminal network

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