ORGANISED CRIME IN
AFRICA
Lucie Konečná
GLCb2026 Africas Contemporary Security
Challenges
13/3/2024
Organised Crime - Definition
^Organised crime consists of those serious criminal offenses committed by a
criminal organization, which is based on a structured association of more than
two persons acting in concert over a prolonged period of time in pursuit of
both their criminal objectives and profits." Gastrow
„Organised Crime is defined as planned and co-ordinated criminal behaviour
and conduct by people working together on a continuing basis." GoV UK
UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention)
defines OCG:
„Organized criminal group' shall mean a structured group of three or more
persons, existing for a period of time and acting in concert with the aim of
committing one or more serious crimes or offences established in accordance
with this Convention, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other
material benefit."
- UNODC • It is committed by two or more perpetrators, who are
S A R P C C O defining Characters' aware of each other's existence and general role, and
who are acting in concert
• It is serious
• It is committed repeatedly
• The crimes are motivated by the pursuit of material
and financial gain
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Organised Crime - Definition
• O C G defining characters according to Šmíd:
a) hierarchical structure/organisation
b) business continuity
c) corruption
d) violence
e) illegal activity
f) penetrating economic markets
g) membership exclusivity
h) non-ideological
• Mafia - type of OCG, is an informal term that is used to describe criminal
organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original "Mafia", the Sicilian
Mafia and Italian Mafia, political dimension.
• Gang - territorial character, less sophisticated methods and activities.
• Syndicate - illegal businesses on a larger, also international scale.
Typology of Organized Crime Groups
UNODC defining features: structure, size, activities, level of transborder
operations, identity, level of violence, use of corruption, political influence,
penetration into the legitimate economy and level of cooperation with other
organizations.
A) Standard Hierarchy B) Regional hierarchy
Single leader
Clearly defined hierarchy
Strong syitems of internal discipline
Known by a specific name
Often strong social or ethnic identity
Violence essential to activities
Often have clear influence or
control over defined territory
Single leadership structure
Line of command from centre
Degree of autonomy at regional level
Geographic/regional distribution
Multiple activities
Often strong social or ethnic identity
Violence essential to activities
Typology of Organized Crime Groups
C) Clustered Hierarchy D) Core group
•
Consists of a number of criminal
groups
Governing arrangement for the
groups present
Cluster has stronger identity than
constituent groups
Degree of autonomy for consumer
groups
Formation strongly linked to
social/historical context
Relatively rare
E) Criminal network
Defined by activities of key individuals
Prominence in network determined by
contacts/skills
Personal loyalties.'ties more important
than social/ethnic identities
Network connections endure,
coalescing around series of criminal
projects
Low public profile - seldom known by
any name
Network reforms al\er exit of key
individuals
Core group surrounded by a
loose network
Limited number of individuals
Tightly organized flat structure
Small size maintains internal
discipline
Seldom has social or ethnic
identity
Only in a limited number of
cases known by a specific name
Global Organized Crime IndexMeasurement
and Typology
Scoring thresholds - criminality
FIGURE 1.1
Criminality indicators
CAZ CA3 Criminal Actors
A CAT. Mafia-style groups
A CA2. Criminal networks
A CA3. State-embedded
actors
A CA4. Foreign actors
Criminal Markets
• CMl. Human trafficking
• CM2. Human smuggling
• CM3. Arms trafficking
<*• CM4. Flora crimes
• CMS. Fauna crimes
• CMS. Non-renewable
resource crimes
• CM7. Heroin trade
CM8. Cocaine trade
<•> CM9. Cannabis trade
• CMIO. Synthetic drug
trade
1 2 3 4 5
NON-EXISTENT
TO LITTLE INFLUENCE
MODERATE
INFLUENCE
Criminal markets
• CMl. Human trafficking
• CM2. Human smuggling
• CM3. Extortion and protection racketeering
••• CM4. Arms trafficking
••• CMS. Trade in counterfeit goods
CMC. Illicit trade in excisable goods
CM7. Flora crimes
• CMS. Fauna crimes
• CM9. Mon-renewable resource crimes
• CM10. Heroin trade
• CM11. Cocaine trade
• CM12. Cannabis trade
CM13. Synthetic drug trade
CM14. Cyber-dependent crimes
• CM15. Financial crimes
Global Organized Crime Index Measurement
and Typology
Resilience indicators
• Rl. Political leadership and governance
• R2. Government transparency and accountability
• R3. International cooperation
• R4. National policies and laws
• R5. Judicial system and detention
• R6. Law enforcement
• R7. Territorial integrity
I R8. Anti-money laundering
I R9. Economic regulatory capacity
I RIO. Victim and witness support
• R11. Prevention
• R12. Non-state actors
Scoring thresholds - resilience
1 2 3 4 5
NON-EXISTENT
OR EXTREMELY
INEFFECTIVE
M O D E R A T E L Y
E F F E C T I V E
Global Organized Crime Index - AfricaVulnerability classifications map
Low Criminality - High Resilience
Low Criminality - Low Resilience
High Criminality • High Resilience
High Criminality - Law Resilience
FIGURE 5.2
Vulnerability classifications map
2021-23
SCORE
COUNTRY 2023 CHANGE
1. CONGO. DEM. REP 7.35 -0.40
2. NIGERIA 7.28 +0.13
; SOUTH AFRICA 7.1Ü +0.56
4. KENYA 7.02 +0.07
5 LIBYA 6,93 +0.1B
6. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 6.7S -0.29
f. UGANDA 6,55 +0.41
5. SUDAN 6,37 -0.10
'i SOUTH SUDAN 5.32 -0.02
10. CAMEROON 6,27 -0.05
"1. MOZAMBIQUE 6.20 -0.33
11. TANZANIA 6.20 + 0.05
• SOMALIA G.13 + 0.35
14. COTE D'lVOIRE 6.02 -0.13
-'• MALI 5,93 +0.05
16. BURKINA FA SO 5,92 +0.43
"• GHANA 5.60 -0.21
IS. NIGER S.70 -0.31
-'z ETHIOPIA 5.58 +0.90
20. ANGOLA S.Sfl •Ü.3D
21 MADAGASCAR S.Sfl 0.00
22. SENEGAL 5.52 + 0.70
21 CHAD 5.50 -0.36
25. LIBERIA 5. SO +0.45
21 ZIMBABWE 5.47 -0.20
% BENIN 5,32 +0.07
27. TOGO 5,23 -0.09
2021-23
SCORE
COUNTRY 2023 CHANGE
28 GUINEA-BISSAU 5,10 -0.3S
29 EGYPT 5.05 o.n
30. SIERRA LEONE 4.95 -0.45
y. ALGERIA U S + 0.37
32. BURUNDI 4.67 +0.3S
Ji. GABON 4*6.5 -0.05
34 MOROCCO 4.80 +0.01
35 CONGO. REP 4.7S -0.24
36 ZAMBIA 4.73 -0.19
i.r
. DJIBOUTI 4,65 +0.66
38. GUINEA 4,56 -0.62
13. GAHBIA 4.53 -0.29
4Ü. MALAWI 4.4S +0.66
41. TUNISIA 4,45 +0.66
42. EQUATORIAL GUINEA 4.3S +0:27
E5WATIN 4,36 +0.76
U . MAURITANIA 4.38 +0.01
41 MAURITIUS 4.17 -0.15
*fi. BOTSWANA 4.35 +0.64
47. NAMIBIA 4.30 -0.03
48. CAEO VERDE 4.2S +0:25
49. ERITREA 3.97 -0.37
50. LESOTHO 3.92 +0.02
L". COMOROS 3.92 +0.05
Li". SEYCHELLES 3.90 +0:23
Li. RWANDA 3,60 -0.07
54. SAD TOME AND PRiNCIPE 1,70 -O.OB
Global Organized
Crime Index
A f ir\r*'r%
COUNTRY SCORE
1. MYANMAR 8.15 +0.56
2. COLOMBIA 7.75 +0.09
i MEXICO 7.57 +0.01
4. PARAGUAY 7.52 +0.82
b. CONGO. DEM, REP 7.35 -0.4Ü
6. NIGERIA 7.28 +0.13
7. SOUTH AFRICA 7.18 +0.B6
e. IRAQ 7.13 +0.03
9. AFGHANISTAN 7.10 +0.02
9. LEBANON 7.10 +0.34
Global Organized Crime Index - Africa
FIGURE 2.3
Criminal markets, continental averages 2019-2021
10
I 2019 | 2021
$
3
7
Global Organized Crime Index - Africa
FIGURE 5.2
Criminal market trends (2019-2023)
10
9
Continental criminality average (2023)
Figure 4: Number of police officers per 100,000 citizens
Asia
Europe
America (North)
Oceania
America (Latin)
Africa
]363
2 346
2 325
304
] 2 3 5
100 300 400
Figure 6: Number of judges per 100,000 population
Factors Influencing the Occurrence of
Income inequality OC \f\ AfriC3
Youthful population
Rapid rates of urbanization
Poorly-resourced criminal justice systems
Proliferation of firearms
Conflict fuels crime, crime feeds conflict
Luropc
North America
Latin America &
Caribbean
As a
Africa I s
0 5 10 15
Figure 8: Prisons overcrowding: ratio of prisoners to prison berths
South A s i a
S u b - S a h a r a n Africa
Latin A m e r i c a a n d the Caribbean
A r a b States
A s i a and the Pacific
Luropc
North America
Southern Europe
Central-Eastern E u r o p e and C I S
• 191
154
• 151
2 125
] 120
2 107
• 100
2 9s
2 95
5Ü 150 200
Factors Influencing the Occurrence of
OC in Africa
Figure 2: The 20 most unequal countries, using raw and adjusted
Gini measurements25
Corruption
CORRUPTION
PERCEPTIONS
INDEX 2021
AFRICAN UNION
33/100
AVERAGE SCORE
SCORE
H ^Incorrupt
I
V;'y
^TRANSPARENCY
INTERNATIONAL
the global coalition against corruption
SCORE COUNTRY/TERRITORY Cote d'lvoire | Guinea
Seychelles | Malawi
' Cabo Verde Sierra Leone 1 Central African
1 Republic
Botswana 1 Egypt
1 Central African
1 Republic
Mauritius 1 Zambia
| Zimbabwe
| Rwanda ISM Algeria Eritrea
1 Namibia 1 Eswatini K U Congo
1 Sao Tome and
| Principe
B B Gabon Guinea Bissau1 Sao Tome and
| Principe
1 Niger
| Chad
South Africa | Djibouti S3 Comoros
1 Tunisia 1 Togo
| Sudan
E B Ghana 1 Kenya | Burundi
1 Senegal ^9i Angola 1 Democratic
1 Republic of
1 the Congo
ELy-M Benin
1 Liberia
1 Democratic
1 Republic of
1 the Congo
1 Burkina Faso FTM Mali • °
EFB Eauatorial GuineaEüJ Ethiopia £ 3 Mauritania ...
Morocco
1 Cameroon 1 Somalia
1 Tanzania 1 Uganda South Sudan
1 Lesotho
| Madagascar
Gambia | Mozambique
#cpi2021
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]-9 10-13 20-23 30-39 40-43 53-59 50-cS 70-73 31-33 9 9 - ' « No data This work from Transparency International (2021) is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0 © (?) ©
Typology of OC in Africa
A) Drug trafficking to drug abuse
B) Trafficking in human beings
C) Arms smuggling (Government stockpiles, Homemade or craft production and
Lost or stolen weapons).
D) Smuggling and illegal importation of goods and counterfeit commodities
E) Resource smuggling, wildlife poaching, and environmental crime
F) Money laundering
Table 1:PricE differences of cigarettes in
selected countries in Southern Africa
Country
Average price (in US$i
of a pack of cigarettes
% of price in
South Africa
South Africa (also
Swaziland, Botswana
and Lesotho) 2.4S iVa
Mozambique 0.45 18
Zimbabwe 111 17
Angola 0.47 19
Zambia 0.67 36
Malawi 0.72 29
Soufce: Bfiftih Amefjcon Tobacco
Case Study - Nigeria
Nigerian criminal gangs rose to prominence in the 1980s.
Nigerian criminal organizations and networks are unique in both their ubiquity and the
diverse nature of their activities.
Factors influencing the rise of OC in Nigeria: weak institutions/bad leadership, weak civil
society, multiple tribal groups and power centers, high levels of corruption, endemic poverty,
weak correctional agencies and lack of synergy and prebendalism.
Nigeria is "the only nation on earth among the top ten oil producing countries classified as
poor."
Highly fluid in personnel and in methods of operation" ranging "from independent
entrepreneurs to highly organized syndicates.
Area Boys (Agberos), Confraternities - Neo Black Movement a.k.a. Black Axe, Supreme
Vikings Confraternity and De Norsemen Kclub of Nigeria.
https://wwwvoutube.com/watch ?v=suTJJqtlPSs
https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=ViTQ7N7iUQ0
Thank you for your
attention