Terrorism can be differentiated from organized crime by the fact that aims of the former is political/ideological while that of organized crime is profit and money making.
Types of organized crime:
- Drug dealing
- Trafficking
- Money Laundering
- Fake currency notes
Symbiotic relation between Terrorism and Organized Crime: -
- Drug trafficking, gun running, extortion, kidnapping, contract killing are used to raise money for their organization.
- Network of people, resources and logistics symbiotically support each other. For example, members of Dawood Ibrahim gang conducted a series of bomb blasts in Mumbai in 1993.
- Terrorist groups conduct drug trafficking’s to ensure channels of terror finance.
- Terrorist groups also support drug trafficking networks through arms, ammunitions as well as support criminals in border crossings. For example: terror movement in Punjab coincided with rise of Golden Crescent as hub for drug smuggling.
Problems in control efforts: -
- Use of modern technology like Deep web and Dark web for sale of illicit items and secure funding is key challenge.
- Legal vacuum, for example inadequate special laws to control or suppress organized crime.
- Inadequate resources and training, for example glaring inadequacy in police personnel and infrastructure, weak forensic team, lack of training for investigating organized crimes.
Measures to control organized crime: -
- Indian Penal Code Section 120-B provides for punishment for criminal conspiracy.
- State level laws like Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime.
- The National Security Act 1980 which provides for preventive detention by Central or State Government or by officers designated by Government.
- Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act provide for detention of persons involved in such crimes.
The frontier for action to address organized crime and terrorism is to improve policing, coordinated intelligence through Multi Agency Centre, better border and cyber security.