Women and girls forced to work as prostitutes are blackmailed by the threat that
traffickers will tell their families. Trafficked children are dependent on
their traffickers for food, shelter and other basic necessities. Traffickers
also play on victims' fears that authorities in a strange country will
prosecute or deport them if they ask for help. A major purveyor of these de
facto slaves is the Russian organized crime syndicate. Brutal, cunning and
ruthless, these 21st Century mobsters present a new threat to US national
security.
Over the past decade, trafficking in human beings has reached epidemic
proportions. No country is immune. The search for work abroad has been fueled
by economic disparity, high unemployment and the disruption of traditional
livelihoods. Traffickers face few risks and can earn huge profits by taking
advantage of large numbers of potential immigrants. Trafficking in human beings
is a crime in which victims are moved from poor environments to more affluent
ones, with the profits flowing in the opposite direction, a pattern often
repeated at the domestic, regional and global levels. It is believed to be
growing fastest in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
In Asia, girls from villages in Nepal and Bangladesh - the majority of whom are
under 18 - are sold to brothels in India for $1000. Trafficked women from
Thailand and the Philippines are increasingly being joined by women from other
countries in Southeast Asia. Europe (European InterPol) estimates that the
industry is now worth several billion dollars a year. Trafficking in human
beings is not confined to the sex industry. Children are trafficked to work in
sweatshops as bonded labor and men work illegally in the "three D-jobs" -
dirty, difficult and dangerous.
A recent CIA report estimated that between 45,000 to 50,000 women and children
are brought to the United States every year under false pretenses and are
forced to work as prostitutes, abused laborers or servants. UNICEF estimates
that more than 200,000 children are enslaved by cross-border smuggling in West
and Central Africa. The children are often "sold" by unsuspecting parents who
believe their children are going to be looked after, learn a trade or be
educated.
In the decade since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the world has become the
target of a new global crime threat from criminal organizations and criminal
activities that have poured forth over the borders of Russia and other former
Soviet republics such as Ukraine. The nature and variety of the crimes being
committed seem unlimited -- trafficking in women and children, drugs, arms
trafficking, stolen automobiles, and money laundering are among the most
prevalent. The spillover is particularly troubling to Europe because of its
geographical proximity to Russia, and to Israel, because of its large numbers
of Russian immigrants.
But no area of the world seems immune to this menace, especially not the United
States. America is the land of opportunity for unloading criminal goods and
laundering dirty money. For that reason--and because, unfortunately, much of
the examination of Russian organized crime (the so-called "Russian Mafia") to
date has been rather hyperbolic and sketchy -- many in law enforcement believe
it is important to step back and take an objective look at this growing
phenomenon.
Russian organized crime has come to plague many areas of the globe since the
demise of the Soviet Union just more than a decade ago. The transnational
character of Russian organized crime, when coupled with its high degree of
sophistication and ruthlessness, has attracted the world's attention and
concern to what has become known as a global Russian Mafia. Along with this
concern, however, has come a fair amount of misunderstanding and stereotyping
with respect to Russian organized crime.
Trafficking is almost always a form of organized crime and should be dealt with
using criminal powers to investigate and prosecute offenders for trafficking
and any other criminal activities in which they engage. Trafficked persons
should also be seen as victims of crime. Support and protection of victims is a
humanitarian objective and an important means of ensuring that victims are
willing and able to assist in criminal cases. As with other forms of organized
crime, trafficking has globalized.
Groups formerly active in specific routes or regions have expanded the
geographical scope of their activities to explore new markets. Some have merged
or formed cooperative relationships, expanding their geographical reach and
range of criminal activities. Illegal migrants and trafficking victims have
become another commodity in a larger realm of criminal commerce involving other
commodities, such as narcotic drugs and firearms or weapons and money
laundering, that generate illicit revenues or seek to reduce risks for
traffickers.
With respect to organized crime, certain geographical or infrastructure
characteristics, such as the presence of seaports, international airports,
strategic border locations, rich natural resources, and so on, provide special
criminal opportunities that can best be exploited by criminals who are
organized. More so than common crime, organized crime is fed by the presence of
ethnic minorities who furnish a ready supply of both victims and the offenders
to victimize them. Organized crime also thrives in environments characterized
by a relatively high tolerance of deviance and a romanticization of crime
figures, especially where government and law enforcement are weak or corrupt
(the history of the Sicilian Mafia illustrates this).
