African
Criminal Enterprises
African Criminal Enterprises
impacting the United States are criminal groups organized by members who
predominantly originate from Nigeria, but also with some criminal groups
originating from other African countries, such as Ghana and Liberia. In
the United States, African Criminal Enterprises have been identified in
several major metropolitan areas from coast to coast, but are most prevalent
in Atlanta; Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Milwaukee; Dallas; Houston;
New York; and Newark.
Nigerian Criminal Enterprises
are the most significant of the African Criminal Enterprises in the United
States and are also operating in more than 80 other countries of the world.
They are a significant emerging criminal threat confronting law enforcement
agencies worldwide. Nigerian Criminal Enterprises are some of the most
aggressive and expansionist international criminal groups and are primarily
engaged in drug trafficking and financial frauds.
African Criminal Enterprises
have developed quickly since the 1980s due to the globalization of the
world's economies and the great advances in communications technology.
The ease of international travel, expanded world trade, and financial transactions
that cross national borders have enabled African Criminal Enterprises to
expand their roles from more traditional local and regional criminal groups
to that of targeting international victims and developing criminal networks
within countries and regions of the world with greater prosperity. The
political, social, and economic conditions in African countries such as
Nigeria, Ghana, and Liberia have contributed significantly to some criminal
ethnic groups from these countries developing criminal enterprises worldwide,
and within the United States.
Drug trafficking of
Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin into Europe and the United States,
as well as cocaine trafficking from South America into Europe and South
Africa are the most profitable activities of the Nigerian Criminal Enterprises.
The money laundering aspects of this criminal activity has also greatly
contributed to Nigerian Criminal Enterprises establishing themselves on
every populated continent of the world. With large populations of ethnic
Nigerians in India, Pakistan, and Thailand, Nigerian Criminal Enterprises
have cultivated direct access to heroin supplies in these regions of the
world which account for more than 90% of the worldwide heroin production.
Financial frauds by
Nigerian Criminal Enterprises have accounted for losses estimated to be
one to two billion dollars in the United States alone, and may be twice
as much worldwide. These schemes are diverse and target not only individuals
but businesses and government offices as well. Insurance fraud involving
automobile accidents, healthcare billing scams, and life insurance schemes
are tremendously profitable for Nigerian Criminal Enterprises. Bank, check,
and credit card fraud schemes are also very lucrative. Advance Fee schemes,
also known as 4-1-9 letters are worldwide problems, especially with the
advent of Internet e-mail systems. Document fraud, to develop false identities,
contributes to the difficulty of law enforcement in all countries to stem
the flow of Nigerian Criminal Enterprise activities.