Here is an essay on ‘Terrorism and Organised Crime’ for class 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on ‘Terrorism and Organised Crime’ especially written for school and college students.
Essay on Terrorism and Organised Crime
More than ever before, groups engaged in terrorism and organised crime operate together. These relationships have helped terrorist groups to be less dependent on state sponsors, and on their domestic and international supporters.
The 1990s, especially the second half, witnessed a number of terrorist groups learning from criminal networks. Operating through the cover of sympathetic organisations in Europe and North America, many Asia-Pacific terrorist groups generate huge revenues from video and CD piracy, business in phone cards and credit card scams.
While organised crime involves many activities, its linkages with terrorism stem from illegal trafficking of drugs, arms and human beings, fake currency and money laundering. Terrorist groups, whether indigenous or sponsored by outside states, need arms and money for their fight against the security forces.
Organised crime needs a client and couriers who can smuggle drugs, arms and human beings across countries and regions.
In India, the linkages between the two exist at national and transnational levels. At the national level, both terrorists and those involved in organised crime are within India. At the international level, collaboration exists between transnational syndicates and terrorists from inside and outside India.
Essay # 1. Terrorism and Organised Crime in the North East:
In India’s north-east, almost all militant groups run a parallel government or have their areas of influence and are involved in collecting money directly from the people. Much of the government funds reach the militants indirectly due to mal-governance. Government officials in conflict zones are either threatened or bribed to award contracts to individuals patronised by the militant groups.
Contracts apart, essential commodities like rice and fuel reach the militant groups directly which are then sold to the public at much higher prices. This phenomenon, though unnoticed in other parts of India, is a clear example of the linkage between organised crime and terrorism inside India.
Extortion, kidnapping, contracts and black marketing still fall short of financing the nefarious activities of the militants. This is where transnational drugs and arms syndicates come into play. Terrorist organisations, especially in the north-east, mobilise funds by becoming couriers of illegal drugs and arms, and at times even human beings, from one point to another within the country.
Some of the infamous entry points from South-east Asia include Moreh and the entire Chittagong Hill tracts, especially Cox’s Bazaar. Initially, international criminal syndicates had their own network; however, with these routes being taken over by various terrorist groups in the north-eastern states, the syndicates have started using them instead of bribing them to let their consignments get through.
Essay # 2. Terrorism and Organised Crime in Kashmir:
In Kashmir, the linkages between terrorists and organised crime exist at a different level. Unlike the north-east, reliance on funds from extortion and other related means is minimal. There is no parallel government in Kashmir and government resources do not reach militant hands. However, external funds compensate for inadequate internal mobilisation. External funds reach the militant organisations fighting in Kashmir through various means.
For instance, enormous funds mobilised in Pakistan and other Muslim countries, especially in the Gulf, are channelled through various organisations in Pakistan to Kashmir. Markazdawa al Arshad, for example, mobilises funds from inside and outside Pakistan to support its militant wing, Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Besides, external funds are also routed through select organisations and individuals in Kashmir, which finally reach the militants. Money laundering plays a significant role. Hawala transactions take place swiftly and effectively. Besides, it is also believed that the ISI uses drug money to fund militant activities in the state.
Another significant relationship between organised crime and terrorism, especially in Kashmir, is through the spread of counterfeit currency, FICN. Terrorists are the main couriers of Indian counterfeit currency inside Kashmir, which then spreads all over India.
Even guides for the militants from across the border are paid with counterfeit money. In fact, when some of the ‘indigenous’ militants were also paid with counterfeits, it resulted in squabble between them and the so-called guest militants.
Essay # 3. Terrorism and Organised Crime in the Rest of India:
Besides Kashmir and the north-east, sporadic incidents in other parts of India, like the Mumbai blasts, for instance, have exposed the connection between terrorism and organised crime. This is distinct from the traditional linkages flourishing between organised crime syndicates and local criminals.
Bombay Blast:
Bombay Blast 1993 was a classical example of organized crime cartel’s planning and executing terrorist activities. The 1993 Bombay bombings were a series of 13 bomb explosions that took place in Bombay on Friday, 12 March 1993. The coordinated attacks were the most destructive bomb explosions in Indian history. The single-day attacks resulted in over 350 fatalities and 1200 injuries.
The attacks were coordinated by Dawood Ibrahim, don of the Bombay-based international organised crime syndicate named D-Company. Dawood Ibrahim was the mastermind behind these blasts. He is involved in all kind of organized crime cartels like Drugs smuggling, gold smuggling, Supari killing, match-fixing etc.
Linkages between terrorism and organized crime came to limelight first time in India in Bombay blast. Communal tension led to terror activities first time in India. First time revenge of riots was taken in the form of terror attacks.
Dawood Ibrahim:
Dawood Ibrahim is the most powerful Mumbai Mafia ‘don’, with a countrywide network and extensive linkages abroad. He is a classic example of Organized crime Mafia. He is one of the most powerful gangsters involved in transnational crimes, including narcotics smuggling, extortion and contract killing. It is believed that he lives in Pakistan and Dubai with support from ISI, though ISI denies it.
Dawood Ibrahim was believed to control much of the hawala system, which is the commonly used unofficial system for transferring money and remittances outside the view of official agencies. He is currently on the wanted list of Interpol for Cheating, Criminal Conspiracy and Organised Crime Syndicated. He was No. 3 on the Forbes’ World’s Top 10 most dreaded criminals list of 2011, rising from the 4th position in 2008.
According to the United States, Dawood Ibrahim maintained close links with Al-Qaeda’s Osama Bin Laden. As a consequence, the United States declared Dawood Ibrahim a “global terrorist” in 2003 and pursued the matter before the United Nations in an attempt to freeze his assets around the world and crack down on his operations.
The US administration imposed several sanctions on Ibrahim and his associates. Indian and Russian intelligence agencies have pointed out Ibrahim’s possible involvement in several other terror attacks, including the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Currently, the primary activities of this gang are extortion, contract killing, film financing, match-fixing, drug trafficking, smuggling gold and computer parts and illicit trade in arms and ammunition. The Dawood gang has been supplying arms both to criminals and terrorists.
Essay # 4. Terrorism and Money Laundering:
Terrorist groups have begun to lay a premium on gaining domestic respectability, as also international acceptance, for their goals. Accordingly, such groups have gradually tended to distance themselves from visibly illegitimate businesses and to invest in legitimate businesses like investment in share market, capital market, IPL spot-fixing, etc.
Specifically, with regard to organised crime, terrorist groups have taken advantage of existing laws to further their own agenda of establishing a transnational network. Irrespective of who does it, it is not a criminal offence in most countries to generate funds through businesses and raise funds through charities. A large proportion of ‘dirty money’ can be traced to proliferating narcotics cartels, alien smuggling networks, etc.
But law enforcement agencies find it more difficult to detect clean-clean money (money which is both generated and transferred legally) as compared to dirty-clean money (money generated from criminal operations and ‘laundered’). The former has certain legitimacy and no illegal hooks attached.
With governments allocating significant resources to combat money laundering, it is becoming difficult for terrorist groups to rely on criminal proceeds. The latest United Nations (UN) Conventions on (a) the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and (b) Transnational Organised Crime will make money laundering even harder.
In order to evade the police dragnet, terrorist groups are consequently developing and maintaining clean money sources. Accordingly, the future scenario is likely to see rag-tag/groups-in-transition utilising ‘dirty-clean money routes’ and sophisticated groups using ‘clean-clean money routes’.
Emerging trends in organised crime indicate that most groups with a national reach are involved in illegitimate businesses, e.g., narcotics and alien smuggling, abduction, extortion, etc. At the other end, a majority of the groups with a global reach are involved in legitimate/quasi-legitimate businesses, e.g., manufacturing, CD/video piracy, etc.
Essay # 5. Terrorism and Drug Trafficking:
Heroin from the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan) and Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Laos and Thailand) feeds the Asia-Pacific – a region with major transit routes to Europe and North America.
The increase in consumption within the region has also contributed to regional insecurity because of the terrorist-criminal nexus. While organised crime groups that are often linked to terrorist groups control narcotics distribution, many terrorist and guerrilla groups control the territories where the narcotics are cultivated or refined.
The erstwhile Taliban regime controlled parts of Afghanistan where heroin was produced and taxed the cultivators as also the transporters of opium. Furthermore, the threat posed by narcotics to health, economic, and law and order spheres in the region is on the increase.
Narcotic trafficking is a major source of revenue for terrorists and organised crime networks, particularly groups with trans-state reach. As much as armed ethnic groups in Myanmar control the flow of narcotics from Myanmar, armed Islamic groups tax and control organised crime networks regulating the flow of narcotics from Afghanistan.
Organised crime, already prevalent in the Far East and South-east Asia, has gained a prominent foothold in the cities of South Asia since the mid-1990s. Organised crime networks in Japan, Hong Kong and China have also made greater inroads in the West. With South Asia increasingly moving towards a market economy, it is likely that organised crime will take deeper roots.