The UK may have signed the UN drugs convention – with its emphasis on prohibition – but that doesn’t mean it can’t legalise the drug.
Victoria Police had reportedly warned Joseph Acquaro, who was gunned down in Brunswick this week, that he was a target of mafia groups.
AAP/Mal Fairclough
Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia have introduced restrictive “consorting” laws. But are the laws justified? Are they an efficient and effective way to combat organised crime?
Italian law is very clear on what constitutes a mafia-type organisation. But that definition could change if prosecutors in a high-profile case have their way.
Johnny Depp is James ‘Whitey’ Bulger in Black Mass.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Ross William Ulbricht, the tech-savvy Texan who created the Silk Road, was sentenced to life in prison without parole on charges that equated him with a mafia boss.
Bribes are just one of many ways criminals can secure favours from procurement officials and politicians.
AAP Image/Dean Lewins
New research suggests that more work needs to be done to stop criminals from subverting government procurement processes and using the spoils to fund crime and terrorism.
Today’s organised crime occurs through loose and undefined networks made up of criminal entrepreneurs and freelancers with little concern for group branding or loyalty.
Bag it up. Is airport security at risk?
Hernán Piñera
When reports surface that a drugs syndicate might control an airport’s baggage handlers, it’s time to look at the pressure points for what is a precarious job – and a serious security threat.
A simpler time. Martin Lev plays Dandy Dan in Bugsy Malone with ammunition at the ready.
alanparker.com/National Films Trustee Corp/David Appleby
Gangs of career criminals in Britain look very different to the stories told by Scorcese or Coppola. They are fluid, multi-cultural and recent research sheds new light on how they use the dirty money.