Essay Sample on Organised Crime Groups in Pakistan

Introduction

Pakistan is a victim of transnational crimes. The country has some ethnically-based organised crime groups which impact on the operation of the government. Some of the most infamous groups engaging in organised crime in Pakistan include the Pakistan mafia (Hussain & Shelley, 2016). The group has numerous affiliates which operate under it. Other groups include the Chotu gang. There are connections between the organised crime groups in Pakistan and the Taliban which is an organised crime unit serving in Afghanistan. The group are mutually dependent. The Taliban uses the arms trafficked by the Pakistan and Chotu gang and remits revenue to the group.

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The Types of Transnational Crimes in Pakistan

Various forms of organised crime thrive as a result of the existence of organised crime groups in Pakistan. One of the significant transnational crimes involves the illegal passage of drugs otherwise known as drug trafficking (Hussain & Shelley, 2016). The country's mafia provides the services for the passage of drugs from Afghanistan. Landlocked Afghanistan seeks the services of the mafia to reach a seaport which ships the drugs to different locations around the world.

At the same time, the organised crime groups serve in trafficking weapons. Various warring groups in Afghanistan need a constant supply of arms (Hussain & Shelley, 2016). Such groups are illegal and hence require an unlawful supplier. The organised crime groups in the country mainly benefit from the income earned through trafficking weapons to Afghanistan.

Activities of the Organised Transnational Crimes in Pakistan

Money laundering is a process with an objective of "cleaning" otherwise illegal money. The method aims at legitimising funds (Felbab-Brown, 2017). The organised crime groups in Pakistan commonly engage in money laundering process as a cover-up for their illicit drug trade. Money laundering involves aspects such as misstating the source of funds, integration, and the operation of shadowy businesses. The members of the group purchase assets or trade them to disguise and legitimise the origins of their finances.

There are other practices that the organised crime groups engage to disguise the source of their funds effectively (Felbab-Brown, 2017). Various integration methods include hefty payments made to shell offshore consulting companies for services rendered. The disguise is that the party paying and the party receiving the money are a single entity. The foreign consulting firms are shell companies owned by organised crime groups. Integration is the final stage of the money laundering process. Pakistan organised crime groups significantly engage in money laundering activities.

Pakistan is a source and a transit for human trafficking primarily due to the activities of the Pakistan Mafia. The political instability in neighbouring Afghanistan indicates that there is a high demand for trafficked people (Felbab-Brown, 2017). The main motives in human trafficking activities include aspects such as blackmail, sex slaves, and sources of ransom. The latter objective provides a source of much-needed financial support for the group. Most of the persons kidnapped in the region end up as captives with the captors asking for hefty ransom before they can release such persons.

There is a high demand for human capital in countries such as Turkey. The authorities at the border do not allow for the free movement of people without the required documents (Felbab-Brown, 2017). The organised crime groups such as the Pakistan mafia charge a fee to traffic people across the borders. Thus, human trafficking thrives since it also offers some income to the organised crime groups. The trafficked persons are sold to work as sex slaves or child labourers in the adjacent regions.

References

Felbab-Brown, V. (2017). Organized Crime, Illicit Economies, Civil Violence & International Order: More Complex Than You Think. Daedalus, 146(4), 98-111.

Hussain, N., & Shelley, L. (2016). Karachi: Organized crime in a key megacity. Connections, 15(3), 5-16.