1. Chapter 8:
Other Organized Crime Genres in Canada

2. Chapter Outline Introduction & Overview Indigenous Organized Crime
Organized Street Gangs
South Asian Organized Crime
Vietnamese Organized Crime
Middle Eastern Organized Crime
Nigerian Criminal Enterprises
Conclusion to Part II
Image Source: Toronto Police Service

3. Learning Outcomes
After reading this chapter, you should have an understanding of:
The organized crime genres & groups presented in this chapter
Basic characteristics of these different genres
How they compare to Mafia-Style criminal organizations (presented in the previous chapter)
Their origins & history outside of & within Canada
The etiological theories specific to (organized) criminality by Indigenous peoples in Canada

4. Indigenous Organized Crime
Indigenous OC can be divided into two categories:
Criminal groups & activities in Central Canada (Ontario & Quebec) that revolve around smuggling & the contraband cigarette trade
Gangs located in the Prairie provinces

5. Indigenous Organized Crime
Indigenous OC in Central Canada
Active in the smuggling of cigarettes & tobacco leaves, alcohol, drugs, firearms, & people esp. through the Akwesasne reserve of the Mohawk Nation
Accusations that Mohawk Warrior are a criminal organization at the centre of the smuggling

6. Indigenous Organized Crime
Indigenous OC in Central Canada
Criminal groups & Individuals on Akwesasne reserve help other OC groups smuggle bulk tobacco, cigarettes, firearms, & cocaine into Canada
Marijuana & synthetic drugs produced in Canada—as well as illegal migrants from outside of Canada—are smuggled through Akwesasne to the American side

7. Indigenous Organized Crime
Indigenous OC in Central Canada
“On their maps, the gangsters put a pin at Akwesasne, & said, ‘This is where it’s easiest to cross’”

8. Indigenous Organized Crime
Indigenous OC in Central Canada
Unregulated manufacturing & distribution of cigarettes on Native reserves
This has contributed to an increase in the smuggling of raw tobacco from the U.S. to Canada
Indigenous groups, local entrepreneurs, as well as Chinese crime groups are all active in this trade
Mohawk Nation claims it have the right to produce tobacco products on their land

9. Indigenous Organized Crime
Organized Indigenous Gangs in the Prairie Provinces
Mostly operate as street gangs & “are generally involved in opportunistic, spontaneous & disorganized street-level criminal activities” (CISC, 2004: 20–21)
Are also behind more serious crimes, including drug trafficking, human trafficking, robberies & firearms offences
Gangs including older teens & young adults & have been linked to OC groups, in particular the Hells Angels

10. Indigenous Organized Crime
Organized Indigenous Gangs in the Prairie Provinces
Gangs include Indian Posse, Redd Alert, Manitoba Warriors, & Native Syndicate
Source:

11. Indigenous Organized Crime
Theories Explaining Indigenous
(Organized) Crime & Gangs
Context: Aboriginal people comprise 3.8% of Canadian population but account for 23.2% of the total inmate population (Office of the Correctional Investigator, 2014)
Strain theory
Colonial model
Historic trauma transmission model
Critical race theory

12. Organized Street Gangs
Street gangs are different from OC both conceptually & in real life (see Chapter 2)
Are used by mafia-style criminal groups — Hells Angels, Rizzuto family, Chinese criminal networks — to undertake certain criminal activities for them
Some street gangs have evolved into criminal organizations
they satisfy many of the definitions & characteristics outlined in chapters 2 & 3
Street gangs disproportionately made up of young men from marginalized groups (Indigenous, African descent) who suffer discrimination in Canadian society

13. South Asian Organized Crime
Indo-Canadian gangs in B.C. (“East Indian Mafia”)
Involved in retail cocaine sales & smuggling of marijuana & illegal pills into the U.S.
Some gangs have expanded into drug trafficking in Alberta
Inter-gang violence in B.C. has claimed more than 100 lives
2004 study: causes of Indo-Canadian gangs in BC a combination of cultural issues (the men are treated like spoiled “princes” at home) & the lure of lucrative drug trade
Image Source: Vancouver Police Department
Bindy Johal, murdered in 1998

14. South Asian Organized Crime
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Principal force behind the insurgency & civil war in Sri Lanka; considered a terrorist group in Canada
LTTE in Canada mainly involved in raising money to support the overseas cause
Involved in drug trafficking, extortion, home invasion, thefts, contraband cigarettes, arms trafficking, fraud, counterfeit passports, illegal migrant smuggling, frauds, & money laundering
Image Source:

15. Vietnamese Organized Crime
Vietnamese Gangs in Ontario
Original gang members refugees escaping Communist regime in Vietnam or from refugee camps in Hong Kong
First made their mark in Toronto’s Chinatown in late 1970s
Eventually managed to take over extortion of Asian merchants & gambling halls from the Kung Lok criminal triad
Evolved into mobile groups that worked with other Vietnamese gangs in Canada & U.S. to commit armed robberies
Globe and Mail, December

16. Vietnamese Organized Crime
Vietnamese Marijuana Grow Operations
More recently, Vietnamese criminal element known for their involvement in marijuana grow operations
Considered major players in BC’s pot industry & have expanded throughout the country
Originally believed to be funded by Chinese crime groups
Increasingly, pot smuggled to the U.S.
Vietnamese-run grow ops have spread throughout US, UK, Australia & Europe

17. Middle Eastern Organized Crime
Persian crime groups active in smuggling & trafficking southwestern Asian heroin in Quebec & opium in Central Canada
Lebanese crime groups involved in organized auto theft & tobacco smuggling
Intelligence reports links these groups & criminal activities to Hezbollah terrorist group in the Middle East
Image Source: By MOHAMED IBRAHIM ( [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

18. Nigerian Criminal Enterprises
Different networks that operate throughout North & South America, Europe, Australia, Africa, & Asia
Corrupt state actors facilitate activities of Nigerian criminal groups
Nigerian drug trafficking networks active in smuggling Southeast Asian heroin & South American cocaine into US, Canada & Europe
Also active in organized auto theft in Canada
Best known for advance fee fraud & but also involved in romance scams

19. Nigerian Criminal Enterprises
Alleged structure of a cell of a Nigerian criminal
enterprise

20. Conclusion to Part II
There is little about OC groups & networks in this country that is distinctively Canadian
Diversity & complexity of OC groups & networks is both reflective & a product of the highly diverse, complex Canadian society
Yet, the diversity is present in other countries.
Little evidence suggesting Canada’s unique policy of multiculturalism encourages ethnic-based criminality (let alone multi-ethnic criminal groups)
Organizational structures no different than those seen in other developed countries