Korean bandits. The most powerful and cruel mafia in the world (18 photos). Fighting Organized Crime in South Korea

Tourists who come to South Korea are often surprised that here you can safely walk around large cities day and night. And therefore, it is not at all difficult for foreigners to believe that the problem of crime in this country practically does not exist. As strange as it may seem, it is true. Or rather, almost. In South Korea, as in any other country, of course, there is both domestic and organized crime, but it has its own specific features here and does not manifest itself as clearly as in other countries.

Spawn of the Yakuza

The history of organized crime in South Korea is closely linked to the Japanese yakuza. However, there is one very significant difference in the approaches of researchers to this issue: some argue that Korean groups appeared to fight the yakuza, while others believe that it was the Japanese gangster clans that contributed to the creation of organized criminal communities in Korea. The latter point of view seems to us more correct, given that there were and still are many Koreans in the ranks of the yakuza themselves.

Of the total number of yakuza in Japan, Koreans make up about 15%, and in the early 1990s. Eighteen of the 90 major bosses in the Inagawa-kai were ethnic Koreans. Although ethnic Koreans already born in Japan make up a significant proportion of the Japanese population, they are still considered foreigners simply residing in the country due to their nationality. But Koreans, who often shun the legitimate trade, are recruited into yakuza clans for the very reason that they conform to society's "outcast" image.

The man who paved the way for Koreans in Japanese society was the Japanese-Korean yakuza who founded the Tosei-kai (Tōsei-kai), Hisayuki Matiya's godfather. Born in 1923, he was given the name Chong Gwon Yong and gradually became a major street thug who saw many opportunities in Japan. As a result, Matia managed to conquer this country, after which he began to establish contacts with the United States, in particular, he collaborated with their counterintelligence, which appreciated his persistent anti-communist convictions. While the Japanese yakuza were imprisoned or under close surveillance by the US occupying forces, the Korean yakuza were quite free to take over the most lucrative black markets. But instead of competing with the Japanese yakuza, Matii formed an alliance with them and remained on close terms with them throughout his underground career. In 1948, Matii created his Tosei-kai (“Voice of the Eastern Gan”) group, and soon the Tosei-kai became such a powerful group in Tokyo that it was even known as the “Ginza Police” and even the Yamaguchi-gumi had to negotiate with Matii about so that their grouping continues to operate within Tokyo. Matia's vast empire included tourism, entertainment, bars and restaurants, prostitution and oil imports. He made his fortune investing in real estate. More importantly, Matii acted as an intermediary between the Korean government and the yakuza, allowing Japanese criminals to do "business" in Korea.

The result of such cooperation with the yakuza was the formation in South Korea of large national criminal groups: Pan-Sobang, Yanggyni and Tongzhe, created in the image and likeness of the yakuza clans. According to South Korean authorities, by 1996 the Pan Sobang and Yanggeen clans ceased to exist as a result of the arrest of their heads and most of the leading members, and the Tongjae clan disintegrated because its leader was forced to hide abroad. Of course, this is hard to believe - in the history of the yakuza there have already been cases when the clans were allegedly liquidated, but in reality they continued to work under a different name. And nothing is said about success in the fight against the Paekkho Pa and Yongdo Pa clans. Be that as it may, the fact remains that according to unofficial estimates of representatives of law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Kazakhstan, more than 300 criminal groups operate in the country. Despite such a seemingly large number, the activities of these groups are almost invisible to others, especially foreign tourists, since these groups of gangpe ((Korean 깡패 - “hooligan”) work exclusively in illegal areas, practically without interfering in the activities of law-abiding citizens and companies.

Three "families" of the South Korean "mafia"

There are three main groups in the Republic of Korea today: Ssan Yong Pha (쌍용파, Double Dragon Group), Chil Song Pha (칠성파, Seven Star Group), Hwang Song Sang Pha (환송성파, "Hwang Sung San Group); each of them includes many small local divisions, and many of them are not interconnected in any way.

"Ssan Yong Pha". This group is considered the most famous in Korean society. Her history is not known, but she is considered the oldest of the "Three Families of the Korean Mafia". The presence of this group in the criminal world in the late 90s and early 2000s was not very noticeable, but in 2005 Ssan Yong Pha made itself known by destroying several nightclubs and business centers. The group's main zone of influence is Gwangju, which is the sixth largest city in South Korea. Each member of Ssang Yong Pha gets a tattoo of two dragons intertwined with each other on their shoulder.

"Chil Song Pha". It is believed that this is the largest of the three groups. Most likely, the group got its name (“Gang of Seven Stars”) because its origins were seven founders, two of whom were subsequently killed, and three were sentenced to long terms on charges of blackmailing the director of a large construction company and extorting more than 20 million dollars. The group gained fame in the criminal world due to the fact that its methods are similar to those of the Japanese yakuza, however, unlike the Japanese gangsters, the Korean gang operates much more secretly, trying not to fall into the field of view of the police. Chil Song Pha is mainly active in Busan and is considered the most powerful South Korean crime group. Each member of the gang gets a tattoo on his chest in the form of seven connected stars.

"Hwang Song Sang Pha". The history of its origin is unknown, as well as the origin of the name. It is believed that the name is composed of the last syllables of the names of its three founders, who belonged to the Son clan, and the group appeared as a result of dissociation from the well-known group in the city of Suwon, Puk Mun Pha (북문파). This group is distinguished by the fact that it has extensive international ties, interacting with criminal organizations from the United States, Japan, China, Mexico, and Brazil. The zones of influence of Hwang Song San Pha in Korea are the cities of Suwon and Gunsan. Each member of the organization who has reached the age of 18 must get a tattoo in the form of the Chinese character 孫, denoting belonging to the Song clan (Chinese - Sun).

invisible mafia

It must be admitted that the existence of organized criminal groups in South Korea remains unnoticed by the majority of the country's population and visiting foreign tourists. The Korean government has generally been quite successful in curbing their activities by keeping local criminal gangs in check and preventing them from interfering with legitimate business. Traditionally, organized crime in Korea dealt with illegal or semi-legal business, where the authorities turned a blind eye to its activities. Legally operating trading shops, shops, workshops, not to mention medium and large companies, usually do not have any dealings with criminal structures, and they, in turn, do not encroach on legal business. Therefore, illegal areas of activity, such as formally prohibited prostitution or gambling, are under the jurisdiction of criminal groups. In general, the activities that criminal organizations are involved in in Korea are similar to those of criminal organizations in other countries:

Gambling. In Korea, the opening of public gambling houses such as casinos for local citizens is prohibited. However, criminal gangs create illegal gambling houses or equip secret rooms in licensed gambling premises. Corrupt officials and policemen who “cover up” this business are often involved in this activity.

"Debt collection". Recovery of delinquent loans is one of the traditional areas of activity of criminal gangs in South Korea. Private lenders and credit organizations often turn to criminal communities in order to recover overdue debts from clients. At the same time, in last years criminal structures themselves actively finance credit organizations or create their own. There you can easily get a loan without any delay and collecting a bunch of papers, but at a huge percentage. Unpaid risks losing everything - gangsters do not stand on ceremony. From time to time, however, they are approached to deal with non-payment of debts, and sometimes quite reputable businessmen do this, since it is sometimes very difficult to get debts through the courts in South Korea, and after the recent economic crisis, the number of outstanding debts has increased dramatically while the effectiveness of litigation has decreased. organs.

Prostitution. Another very profitable source of income is prostitution. In Korea, prostitution is prohibited by law, but illegal brothels exist, as does the trade in "human goods." This business is characterized by a high degree of internationalization, since prostitutes are supplied, as a rule, from other countries - China, Vietnam, the Philippines and Russia. At the same time, girls are often involved in this activity by deceit, promising work as dancers or waitresses, but in reality being sold into sexual slavery.

Racket. This is a traditional source of income for any criminal community in almost all countries of the world. South Korean gangsters are no different from their counterparts in this regard, imposing tribute on street vendors, bars, restaurants, fish markets, etc. However, tribute is levied only on those who themselves work in violation of the law, while law-abiding merchants do not have any problems with crime.

Building bussiness. Like the Yakuza, South Korean criminal organizations are heavily involved in the construction business. Firms controlled by gangsters get the most lucrative contracts, as their competitors are forced to either refuse to participate in the competition or set deliberately losing conditions. As a result, it turns out that 2-3 companies controlled by criminal structures remain in the tender: one of them receives a contract, the other (or others) receive subcontracts from the winner.

Drug trade. The drug trade is the main source of income for organized crime in many countries, but in South Korea it is not very widespread and does not bring such income to Korean gangs as, for example, their American and "colleagues". Korean crime began to master this type of activity quite late, since the heads of the clans, not without reason, feared that their "fighters" themselves would become involved in drug use - they were punished very cruelly for this. However, over time, South Korean criminal groups got involved in this business, which is also international: almost no drugs are produced in South Korea (with the exception of small batches of synthetic drugs), their main volume is imported from China through triads, and South Korea is, first of all, not so much sales market, how much transshipment transit base. As for the arms trade, this area is almost out of sight of South Korean criminal groups, since this business is too risky - South Korea has strict laws on this matter, so most local gangsters prefer to do without weapons at all.

Crime International

If in South Korea itself national criminal groups are almost invisible, then abroad the activities of criminal structures created by ethnic Koreans are better known. About 700,000 people of Korean origin live in Japan, many of whom have lived here for generations, but are not considered its subjects and cannot get a decent job. It is they who make up the "core" of some of the criminal groups in Japan, allowing the Yakuza to more easily establish contacts abroad - in South Korea, the USA, China, and Russia.

According to law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Korea, in 1988 even a kind of alliance was created between the criminal groups of South Korea and the yakuza, in the creation of which three leaders of Korean clans took part, one of whom was hired as a leading consultant for the Sanryung company, which was controlled by yakuza. In March 1990, four members of the Baekho Pa clan operating in Busan underwent training in Japan with funds provided by the Japanese Inagawa-Kai syndicate, and at the end of 1990, members of the South Korean Yongdo Pa clan visited Japanese "colleagues" for several days.

According to Interpol, there have been cases of gambling crimes committed by members of criminal groups created by ethnic Koreans in a number of Asia-Pacific countries, in particular in the Philippines and Macao, China. In addition to the gambling business, Korean criminal groups operating in different countries region are also involved in foreign exchange smuggling, extortion, etc.

It should be noted that outside of South Korea, Korean criminal groups are most widespread in the United States, where they vary greatly in scale. Most notable are the small gangpae gangs that have formed the stereotype of the "Korean mafia" - gangsters in baggy clothes who drive low Hondas, wear caps with the inscription "Korean Pride", speak very poor English and burn cigarettes as a sign of belonging to the gang. on hands. Such gangpae are usually engaged in theft and local racketeering. There are, however, large Korean groups in the United States engaged in human trafficking, pimping, armed robbery, and extortion on an especially large scale.

Fighting Organized Crime in South Korea

Speaking about countering the activities of organized crime in South Korea, many experts note that the main problem is the involvement of a large number of teenagers, due to which a new generation of gangpoe is being formed. The problem is that it is difficult to deal with the participation of minors in criminal gangs, since parents and close acquaintances most often prefer to turn a blind eye to this, since any connection, and even more so kinship, with criminals in Korean society is considered extremely shameful. And for Koreans, there is little worse than “losing face.”

At the same time, it is precisely this perception that is one of the reasons why the activities of criminal groups in South Korea are hardly noticeable, and their activity is low. Street crime, which everyone pays priority attention to, is minimized here, and large-scale crimes are mainly committed in the economic sphere - it is not for nothing that South Korea is sometimes called the “country of unpaid taxes”. To many violations in the economic sphere - the criminal business of "white collars" - the attitude in South Korean society is quite loyal, many do not consider tax evasion a serious crime. That is why various financial pyramids, construction frauds, etc. have become widespread in South Korea.

It should also be noted that South Korean legislation plays a significant role in combating organized crime. Thus, according to the law on punishment for organized crime, if a member of an organized crime group commits a crime in order to maintain the organization, the amount of punishment for him can be increased by half compared to an ordinary criminal. In addition, in order to combat money laundering, illegally obtained, since 1993, all citizens of the country can conduct financial transactions only on their own behalf. In 1995, a special act for the prevention of illegal drug trade came into force, which provides for the confiscation of illegal income and property obtained from illegal drug activities and profits from illegal drug trafficking.

According to the legislation on combating especially serious crimes, mere membership in a criminal group is a crime if this group is recognized as a criminal organization. In 1993, the act was amended, according to which anyone who forces or induces another person to join a criminal group can be sentenced to two years or more in prison, and anyone who supplies money to a criminal organization can be sentenced to three or more years in prison.

In addition, since June 1, 2000, a law has been in force to protect victims and witnesses of serious crimes, such as: organized crime, drug trafficking and organization criminal group. This law, like the U.S. Witness Protection Program, includes maintaining complete confidentiality during investigations and trials, covering the costs of moving a witness and transferring them to another job, and taking security measures to protect them.

Organized crime in North Korea: all at the highest level?

There is practically no information about the situation with crime in the DPRK - the state is closed. Of course, even here there cannot be no domestic crime - petty crimes, theft, domestic murders, etc., although the North Korean authorities deny even this. However, if there are prisons in North Korea, then there are also criminals - not only dissidents are sent to jail. But this has nothing to do with organized crime.

We can judge organized crime in the DPRK only by publications in the Western press, referring to the testimonies of refugees and intelligence services. Of course, they should be treated with a great deal of skepticism, given that foreign media traditionally demonize North Korea, presenting it as a "fiend of evil." However, some data still deserve attention. According to Western publications, the only organized crime group in North Korea is a structure that includes representatives of the country's top leadership. This is the so-called Fakel group.

The first information about the Torch was published by The Washington Times after the scandal with the sinking of the South Korean corvette Cheonan. Then an article was published stating that "Western intelligence services have established that a group of offspring of high-ranking party leaders and military leaders of North Korea, which includes the sons of Kim Jong Il, is involved in illegal activities around the world, in particular, in the distribution of counterfeit hundred dollar bills and drug trafficking. In particular, the US Treasury believes that North Korea is engaged in counterfeiting - both the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit $100 bills, maintaining strong ties with international criminal structures and financial organizations.

Illegal activities, according to the Americans, were (and probably still are) engaged in a certain group called "Torch" (acting under the guise of a special department of the Executive Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea) led by Oh Se Wan, the son of a prominent functionary from the National Defense Committee North Korea's O Kuk Yol, who played a key role in the transfer of power from Kim Jong Il to his son Kim Jong Un. According to American intelligence, it was Oh Se Wan who was involved in the incident with the North Korean ship "Pong Su", which was detained by the Australian authorities on April 16, 2003 with a cargo of heroin, as well as in the distribution of counterfeit dollars in Las Vegas in 2004 in Las Vegas. Vegas. At the same time, the dollars were made of exceptionally high quality - after all, according to the CIA, they were printed at the state mint in Pyongyang. Counterfeit currency was also exported through China and Macau to other countries in Southeast Asia, where it was exchanged for real banknotes at a 5:1 rate. Banco Delta Asia (Macau) was used to distribute fakes, against which the United States imposed special sanctions (removed in 2007 in response to Pyongyang's promise to renounce nuclear weapons).

According to the Americans, the current leader of the DPRK, Kim Jong-un, the youngest son of Kim Jong Il, was also associated with the Fakel group. As for the middle son - Kim Jong Chol - it is believed that the main reasons that he was not considered for the role of successor at all were allegedly his "effeminateness" (in normal language, this is a penchant for homosexuality) and addiction to drugs - according to the American intelligence, he regularly received heroin from members of the Fakel group. After a series of international scandals, the group temporarily curtailed its activities abroad, but did not stop its work.

Of course, the statements of the Americans can be treated differently, because the information they provide may well be disinformation. However, after the release of this publication, other data followed.

North Korean drug business

In 2011, journalists from National Public Radio (an organization that brings together almost all radio stations in the United States) spoke with a refugee from the DPRK, Ma Yun Ae, who previously worked in the Pyongyang police and was engaged in the fight against petty drug traffickers (the activity itself already indicates that in North Korea has an illegal drug trade). According to her, the state itself remains the largest drug trafficker in the country. During Ma's tenure in the 1980s, Korea specialized in the export of opiates, but then amphetamines gained popularity. The main consumer of North Korean drugs is China, which also plays the role of a transit point. In fact, Ma's task was to ensure state monopoly and eliminate competition from small traders.

According to American estimates, poppy fields in the DPRK occupy from 4,000 to 7,000 hectares, mainly in the north of the country. This allows the production of up to 50 tons of raw opium per year, which is enough to produce 5 tons of heroin. Although this is almost nothing on a global scale, heroin sales abroad turn out to be a good source of income for the North Korean government. Since the 1970s, more than 20 North Korean diplomats have been arrested for their involvement in drug smuggling to both Asian and European countries. In recent years, however, no major revelations have occurred.

It is worth noting that in China, the North Korean drug problem was officially recognized by the authorities: in 2006, the deputy head of China's public security bureau, Meng Hongwei, demanded decisive action against North Korean drug traffickers who worked in China's Jilin province. There is a version that thanks to established links between North Korean and Chinese criminal groups, heroin produced in the DPRK often spreads from China and is perceived as Chinese.

Drugs from the DPRK are also widely sold in Japan, although it is not heroin that is most often found there, but synthetic substances, such as methamphetamine. Experts say that North Korean synthetic drugs are of the highest quality. Over the past five years, Japanese authorities have managed to detect more than one and a half tons of crystallized methamphetamine from North Korea. According to rough estimates, the share of such substances from the DPRK in the Japanese market can reach 30%.

In the summer of 2011, reporters from the international news channel Sky News provided the world with further evidence that officials North Korea is involved in the trafficking of illicit drugs. Posing as potential buyers, the TV men met with a North Korean drug dealer in an abandoned house in northern China. The communist huckster brought in three bags of what he called pure North Korean heroin. He said that within two weeks he could bring up to a kilogram of the drug without risk to himself and his clients. When crossing the Korean-Chinese border, the drug courier gives a bribe to border guards in the amount of 400-500 won (2.5-3 dollars) and has no problems, roaming back and forth with goods, then with money. A comrade from the DPRK takes heroin for sale from a party functionary, transactions are made under the portrait of Kim Il Sung.

And in February 2012, Yun Sang-hyun, a member of the South Korean parliamentary committee on international trade and unification affairs, said that more than half of all drugs in South Korea are illegally supplied from the North. “North Korea's border with China has seen a huge increase in drug trafficking, and from there (from China) it ends up in South Korea. In particular, 57.3% of foreign-made methamphetamines detected in South Korea in 2011 came through China, presumably from North Korea,” Yoon Sang-hyun said. According to him, "Drug production in North Korea is carried out both at the state level through the 39th department of the Workers' Party of Korea, and at the private level." The parliamentarian added that "three provinces in northeast China serve as bases for the transfer of drugs."

In early December 2016, Radio Free Asia reported that North Koreans were making money by selling large amounts of marijuana to Chinese tourists visiting the Naseong Special Economic Zone, which borders China's Jilin province. At the same time, it is noted that “the cultivation of hemp in the DPRK is not prohibited by law. The inhabitants of the country began to mass-breed it in the early 1980s for the oil from the seeds of the plant, which they used for cooking. The then leader of the country, Kim Il Sung, encouraged this practice. Currently, only a small part of the people of the DPRK still cultivates hemp for oil. Now thickets of wild hemp can be seen in different parts of North Korea. At the same time, most local residents do not even know that the use of marijuana is illegal in many states.”

Last summer, many foreign and Russian media, citing a publication in the Telegraph, wrote that “in North Korea, workers are given drugs to speed up the construction of buildings.” According to journalists, after using illegal drugs, builders feel euphoric, and their appetite decreases. It was crystal methamphetamine, a Class A drug that lasts up to 12 hours. The exact extent of the use of this drug is unknown, but the Telegraph does not exclude that the production of methamphetamine in North Korea is on a state scale.

Given the extremely scarce flow of truthful information about the situation in the DPRK, it is very difficult to separate the truth from disinformation. But it is worth paying attention to the fact that some publications in the foreign press say that the fight against the drug trade in the DPRK is still being carried out, and rather harshly. For example, a Los Angeles Times article published in January 2014, “In North Korea, meth is offered as casually as a cup of tea,” notes: “In the 1990s, the North Korean government produced opium, meth and other drugs for Service 39, a secret service that collects hard currency for the late leader Kim Jong Il. However, according to a State Department report on the International Drug Control Strategy, the North Korean government has largely withdrawn from the drug business. When the government controlled the business, drugs were strictly for export. The move into private hands has made the drug more widely available inside North Korea. North Koreans say that meth first appeared on the streets around 2005 and that it was from Hamhung, the former center of the country's pharmaceutical and chemical industries and therefore a city with many unemployed scientists and technologists. Production then moved to Chongjin and the capital Pyongyang.” That is, private individuals engaged in the production of methamphetamine in the DPRK, producing it in artisanal conditions and sending the bulk of it smuggled to China.

It is noteworthy that the article also cites information from the case of the detention of a group of drug traffickers operating in Thailand and the Philippines, which was heard in New York court in December 2013. Those arrested who tried to smuggle amphetamine into the United States told the DEA that it was the remains of methamphetamine produced in the DPRK, where "the North Korean government destroyed all the laboratories."

As the Los Angeles Times notes, "It's not clear if the government is serious about cracking down on the drug trade, or if it's just trying to regain control of the lucrative business." However, information is immediately given from the North Korean defector Lee, released in 2011 from the North Korean camp, who claims that “about 1.2 thousand prisoners (up to 40%) are in jail for selling methamphetamine.” Thus, allegations that the North Korean authorities allegedly encourage the drug trade should be considered, to put it mildly, unfounded.

Fake "superdollars" - a propaganda "duck" or an achievement of the Mint of the DPRK?

Another area of criminal activity in the DPRK is often referred to by Western media as the production and distribution of counterfeit dollar bills. According to Leonid Petrov, a researcher at the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at the Australian National University, the DPRK had quite a lot of experience in making fake money: “Back in the 1980s, there was a workshop in Pyongyang for making counterfeit dollars, which were including in the Soviet Union, and after its collapse also in the CIS”.

North Korean counterfeiters were most notorious in the late 20th century, when the United States discovered counterfeit $100 bills virtually indistinguishable from the real ones on the world market. Behind high quality U.S. financial officials have even taken to calling them superbanknotes. The United States blamed North Korea for the production of superbanknotes: this was indicated by reports of dissidents who fled the country, as well as the fact that North Korean officials abroad were caught several times trying to pay them off. According to the US Treasury Department, more than two-thirds of all counterfeit dollars circulating in the world are North Korean-made banknotes.

The North Korean authorities, of course, deny all accusations, and some experts are inclined to believe them. The fact is that the production of counterfeit banknotes of this quality requires extremely expensive equipment, and the profit from the distribution of banknotes, which was estimated at $15-25 million a year, can hardly cover the costs of their production.

Of course, a significant part of the testimonies of refugees from the DPRK and these intelligence services may be just a tool of information warfare, a propaganda move aimed at creating the image of North Korea as an "evil empire" - we ourselves went through all this during the Cold War. But there were also facts of detection of attempts to smuggle drugs and counterfeit banknotes across the Russian-North Korean border. How to treat it? Is this evidence that the Americans are right, or are these just isolated isolated cases, on which global conclusions should not be drawn?

It is time to understand one thing: crime will exist as long as social inequality exists, as long as society is divided into rich and poor, as long as countries are divided into leaders and outcasts. It is the outcasts who are the contingent that joins the ranks of crime, because the beggars see no other way to survive. And there is no other way to fight crime than to eliminate inequality. But those who run organized crime communities will never allow this. Threads from criminal gangs stretch up to the highest circles, to the economic and political elite. This system is beneficial to those who manage it. It's just business.

Korean mafia
Korean merchants were tortured by their own bandits
In Orenburg, an investigation into the case of a gang of Koreans by the Liang brothers has been completed. The criminals took money and valuables from their compatriots who came to trade in Orenburg. People were kept in a locked shed for weeks, brutally tortured and beaten. According to operational data, more than a hundred Korean entrepreneurs from cities in Russia and the CIS suffered from the actions of bandits.

According to investigators, the organizers of the gang were brothers Liang Kuang Kuo and Liang Guan Pi. In 1996, they settled in Orenburg with their families and engaged in trade. But commercial revenues were modest: they had too many competitors from Korea in the local markets. Then the brothers put together a group of five people to rob their compatriots.
Investigators of the Orenburg prosecutor's office failed to establish the exact time of the start of the gang's activities. The first testimonies about the crimes committed by its participants date back to June 11, 1997. Then the victims of the bandits were the Korean businessman Qiu Po Guo and his wife Li Kui Zi. The day after the spouses arrived in Orenburg, the people of the Liang brothers met with them and offered to settle in a private house in the village of Kushkul, located within the city. They said that at first all visiting Koreans live there. Entrepreneurs gladly agreed and went to the specified address. But as soon as they crossed the threshold of the house, they were trapped. The spouses were taken to different rooms, their documents, money and luggage receipt were taken away. According to it, the criminals received the goods brought by the merchants and sold them through their outlets in the city's markets.
Li Kui Zi was forced to strip to make sure she didn't hide valuables under her clothes. Her husband was brutally beaten by four. Then the spouses were thrown into a shed in the courtyard of the house, in which there were already several men and women. Qiu Po Guo and his wife were locked up for a month. They witnessed the brutal torture that other prisoners were subjected to. People were undressed, hung on ropes by the hands from a crossbar near the ceiling, and severely beaten with metal rods, a shovel, and an ax butt. Some broke their legs, and the prisoners moved around the barn on all fours. Despite their helpless state, the bandits continued to mock them.
At the request of the bandits, after torture and imprisonment, the merchants had to lure more victims to Orenburg. The captives called businessmen they knew and invited them to come, talking about the advantages of the local market and their financial successes. With new arrivals, history repeated itself.
Sometimes the bandits brought a familiar Korean doctor who examined the captives. If the wounds turned out to be life-threatening, the bandits took the unfortunate to the station, bought them tickets and sent them to the nearest cities, warning in the end that if they returned to Orenburg or complained to the police, they would face a cruel death.
However, the bandits were the least afraid of statements to law enforcement agencies. They knew that most Korean businessmen were in Russia illegally and would not voluntarily make contact with the authorities.
The criminal group was detained at the end of August this year. Several traders, despite threats, turned to the police. The operatives who arrived at the indicated address found people in the barn, and during a search in the house they found documents and luggage belonging to them.
The gang members were charged with robbery and unlawful imprisonment. And one of them, Tei Yong Chen, is accused of murder. His victim was Vladimir Blednykh, the owner of an apartment rented by a Korean. In a quarrel, Tey stabbed the Pale Ones in the stomach with a knife. When the Korean was detained by the police, he stubbornly denied his guilt. However, Blednykh's neighbor said that before his death, he managed to say: "The lodger stabbed me."

ELENA B-SAMOILOVA, Orenburg

Despite the relentless use of mafia images by Hollywood that have long become cliches, there are still illegal gangs in the world that control industry, engage in smuggling, cybercrime, and even shape the global economy of countries.

So where are they located and which ones are the most famous in the world?

Yakuza

This is not a myth, they exist and, by the way, were among the first to make significant efforts to help after the tsunami in Japan in 2011. The traditional areas of interest of the yakuza are underground gambling, prostitution, drug trafficking, arms and ammunition trafficking, racketeering, the production or sale of counterfeit products, car theft and smuggling. More sophisticated gangsters trade in financial fraud. Group members are different beautiful tattoos which are usually hidden under clothing.

Mungiki

This is one of the most aggressive sects in Kenya, which arose in 1985 in the settlements of the Kikuyu people in the central part of the country. The Kikuyu gathered their own militia in order to protect the Masai lands from government militants who wanted to crush the resistance of the recalcitrant tribe. The sect, in essence, was a street gang. Later, large detachments were formed in Nairobi, which engaged in racketeering of local transport companies transporting passengers around the city (taxi firms, car parks). Then they switched to garbage collection and disposal. Each slum dweller was also required to pay the representatives of the sect a certain amount in exchange for a quiet life in their own shack.

Russian Mafia

It is officially the most feared organized crime group in the world. Former FBI special agents call the Russian mafia "the most dangerous people on Earth." In the West, the term "Russian mafia" can mean any criminal organization, both Russian itself and from other states of the post-Soviet space, or from the immigration environment in far abroad countries. Some get hierarchical tattoos, often use military tactics and perform contract killings.

Hell's Angels

Considered an organized crime group in the United States. This is one of the largest motorcycle clubs in the world (Hells Angels Motorcycle Club), which has an almost mythical history and branches all over the world. According to the legend posted on the official website of the motorcycle club, during the Second World War, the US Air Force had the 303rd heavy bomber squadron with the name "Hell's Angels". After the end of the war and the disbandment of the unit, the pilots were left without work. They believe that their homeland betrayed them and left them to the mercy of fate. They had no choice but to go against their "cruel country, get on motorcycles, join motorcycle clubs and rebel." Along with legal activities (motorcycle dealerships, motorcycle repair shops, sale of goods with symbols), the Hells Angels are known for illegal activities (sale of weapons, drugs, racketeering, prostitution control, and so on).

Sicilian Mafia: La Cosa Nostra

The organization began its activities in the second half of the 19th century, when the Sicilian and American mafia were the strongest. Initially, Cosa Nostra was engaged in the protection (including the most cruel methods) of the owners of orange plantations and nobles who owned large land plots. By the beginning of the 20th century, it had turned into an international criminal group, whose main activity was banditry. The organization has a clear hierarchical structure. Its members often resort to highly ritualistic methods of revenge, and also have a series of elaborate rites of initiation for males into the group. They also have their own code of silence and secrecy.

Albanian mafia

There are 15 clans in Albania that control most of the Albanian organized crime. They keep drug trafficking under their control, they are engaged in trafficking in people and weapons. They also coordinate the supply of large quantities of heroin to Europe.

Serbian mafia

Various criminal gangs based in Serbia and Montenegro, consisting of ethnic Serbs and Montenegrins. Their activities are quite diverse: drug trafficking, smuggling, racketeering, contract killings, gambling and information trafficking. To date, there are about 30-40 active criminal groups in Serbia.

Montreal Mafia Rizzuto

The Rizzuto are a crime family primarily based in Montreal but running the provinces and Ontario. They once merged with families in New York, which eventually led to the mafia wars in Montreal in the late 70s. Rizzuto owns hundreds of millions of dollars of real estate in different countries. They own hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, construction, food, service and trading companies. In Italy, they own firms for the production of furniture and Italian delicacies.

Mexican drug cartels

Mexican drug cartels have existed for several decades; since the 1970s, certain state structures of Mexico have been assisting their activities. Mexican drug cartels intensified after the collapse in the 1990s of the Colombian drug cartels - Medellin and. It is currently the main foreign supplier of cannabis, cocaine and methamphetamine in Mexico, and Mexican drug cartels dominate the wholesale illicit drug market.

Mara Salvatrucha

Slang for "Salvadorian roaming ant brigade" and is often shortened to MS-13. This gang is mainly based in Central America and is based in Los Angeles (although they operate in other parts of North America and Mexico). By different estimates, the number of this cruel criminal syndicate ranges from 50 to 300 thousand people. Mara Salvatrucha is involved in many types of criminal business, including drug trafficking, arms and human trafficking, robbery, racketeering, contract killings, kidnapping for ransom, car theft, money laundering and fraud. hallmark The members of the group are tattooed all over their bodies, including on the face and the inside of the lips. They not only show a person's belonging to a gang, but also tell in their details about his criminal biography, influence and status in the community.

Colombian drug cartels

As of 2011, it remained the largest producer of cocaine in the world. She had a special influence in the world. However, a strong anti-drug campaign has led to the liquidation of many of the most dangerous producers, such as cartels and. As you know, these families hired the most experienced experts on illegal trade.

Chinese Triad

The triad is a form of secret criminal organization in China and in the Chinese diaspora. Triads have always been characterized by common beliefs (belief in the mystical meaning of the number 3, hence their name). At present, the triads are known mainly as mafia-type criminal organizations prevalent in Taiwan and other centers of Chinese immigration, specializing in drug trafficking and other criminal activities.

D Company

This group is based in India, Pakistan and is led by Dawood Ibrahim. The activity of the organization is extortion and terrorist acts. So in 1993 it was responsible for the bombings in Bombay, which killed 257 people and injured more than 700. D-Company is said to be funded by billions of dollars from real estate transactions and banking scams.

There are many criminal gangs in the world, which, due to their high organization and large number, began to be called the mafia. This post will introduce you to the most powerful and cruel mafias in the world.

Sicilian mafia

It has been operating in Sicily since the beginning of the 19th century, turning into an international organization at the beginning of the 20th century. Initially, the organization was engaged in protecting the owners of orange plantations and nobles who own large plots of land, mainly from themselves. These were the beginnings of racketeering. Later, Cosa Nostra expanded its area of activity, becoming a criminal gang in every way. Since the 20th century, banditry has become the main activity of Cosa Nostra.

Russian Mafia

Mexican mafia (La eMe)

This gang is an ally of the Aryan Brotherhood from the south coast of the United States. Known for her active involvement in the drug trade. Gang members are easily identified by a special tattoo in the form of a black hand located on the chest.

The Mexican mafia was created in the late 50s by members of a street gang of Mexicans imprisoned in the Dewell Prison, located in Trici, California. The founders of the gang were thirteen Mexican-Americans from East Los Angeles, several of whom were members of the Maravila gang. They called themselves Mexicanemi, which is translated from the Nahuatl language as "one who walks with God in his heart."

The Yakuza are organized crime syndicates in Japan, similar to the triad in other Asian countries or the Western mafia. However, the social organization and work patterns of the yakuza are very different from other criminal gangs: they even have their own office buildings, and their actions are often and quite openly reported in the press.

One of the iconic images of the Yakuza is their intricate colored tattoos all over their bodies. The Yakuza use a traditional method of manually injecting ink under the skin, known as irezumi, a tattoo that serves as a kind of proof of courage, since this method is very painful.

Chinese Triad

The triad is a form of secret criminal organization in China and in the Chinese diaspora. Triads have always been characterized by common beliefs (belief in the mystical meaning of the number 3, hence their name). At present, the triads are known mainly as mafia-type criminal organizations prevalent in Taiwan, the United States and other centers of Chinese immigration, specializing in drug trafficking and other criminal activities.

The Triad is one of the most patriotic mafias. During international events, militants guarantee the safety of foreigners, and during the outbreak of SARS they even announced a $1 million bonus to a doctor who finds a cure for this disease.

Hell's Angels (USA)

One of the largest motorcycle clubs in the world with its chapters (branches) all over the world. Included, along with Outlaws MC, Pagans MC and Bandidos MC, in the so-called "big four" outlaw clubs and is the most famous among them. Law enforcement agencies in a number of countries call the club a “gang of motorcyclists” and are accused of drug trafficking, racketeering, trafficking in stolen goods, violence, murders, etc.

According to the legend posted on the official website of the motorcycle club, during the Second World War, the US Air Force had the 303rd heavy bomber squadron with the name "Hell's Angels". After the end of the war and the disbandment of the unit, the pilots were left without work. They believe that their homeland betrayed them and left them to the mercy of fate. They had no choice but to go against their "cruel country, get on motorcycles, join motorcycle clubs and rebel."

Mara Salvatrucha

This mafia is engaged in many types of criminal business, including drug trafficking, weapons and people; robbery, racketeering, contract killings, kidnapping for ransom, pimping, car theft, money laundering and fraud.

Many street vendors and small shops located in the territories of Mara Salvatrucha pay the gang up to half of the income for the opportunity to work. Many Salvadorans living in the US are also forced to pay MS-13, whose relatives, in case of refusal, the bandits will mutilate or kill in their homeland.

Montreal Mafia Rizzuto

The Rizzuto are a crime family primarily based in Montreal but running the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. They once merged with families in New York, which eventually led to the mafia wars in Montreal in the late 70s. Rizzuto owns hundreds of millions of dollars of real estate in different countries. They own hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, construction, food, service and trading companies. In Italy, they own firms for the production of furniture and Italian delicacies.

Mungiki (Kenya)

This is a Kenyan political-religious group banned since 2002, reviving the traditional African religion. Born in the wake of the Mau Mau uprising. Gained notoriety in connection with the massacres and clashes with the police.

Mungiki considers itself a religious group that advocates the preservation of the traditional "African way of worship, culture and way of life." Its adherents pray with their faces turned towards Mount Kenya. They also practice vows and sacrifices.

As many of our readers are well aware, Seoul is perhaps one of the safest metropolitan areas in the world. Walking in Seoul at night, unlike, say, walking through many areas of New York at night, is not a deadly adventure, and the chances of becoming a victim of a crime here are very small (alas, this does not apply to the chances of getting into a car accident, which in Seoul is much larger than most major cities in the world).

However, in recent months, Korean police reports have become much more alarming than before. The reason for this is quite obvious - the severe financial and economic crisis that suddenly hit the country at the end of last year. This is not to say that there were no economic problems in Korea before, but the previous periods of crisis were very short, and none of them can be compared in severity with the current depression.

The crisis means curtailment of production, and, consequently, unemployment, as well as a significant decline in the real incomes of the majority of the population. According to the Kukmin Ilbo newspaper, the current standard of living in Korea is about the same as it was in 1988, that is, in other words, the crisis has thrown the country back almost a decade. Unemployment has reached an unprecedented level - 7%, and continues to grow.

It is clear that the crisis and unemployment mean a noticeable increase in crime in Korea. People, often left without means of subsistence, are ready to do anything to get money for themselves and their families. Therefore, no one is surprised that recent months in Korea have been marked by an increase in crime. Although the absolute number of crimes is still relatively low (at least when compared to Korea with most industrialized countries), the rate of increase in crime is simply record.

According to the data for the first quarter of this year, which, in particular, were published in the Kukmin Ilbo newspaper, the number of people detained by the police on charges of criminal offenses increased by 76.8% compared to the first quarter of last year. At the same time, the number of people arrested on charges of robbery increased by 51%, and on charges of theft - by 24% (another newspaper, Gyeonghyang Sinmun, cites somewhat different statistics, and claims that the increase in the number of arrests for charges of robbery amounted to "only" 38.3%). At the same time, it should be mentioned that the number of arrests for murder charges has decreased, and, moreover, quite significantly, by 7.7%. The number of rapes also remained practically stable. Thus, it is obvious that the current wave of crimes is of an "economic" nature and is directly related to the decline in living standards. Kukmin Ilbo quoted a spokesman for the Police Department as saying that among those arrested, there is an unusually high proportion of people who have not been prosecuted before, and that many of them are unemployed.

The Seoul Sinmun newspaper reports that a special seminar was held in the Korean capital in early July on the topic "Methods for fighting crime in the era of the IMF" ("the era of the IMF" - the International Monetary Fund - in Korea is often called the current economic crisis) . The focus of the seminar was the question of how crime and unemployment are related. The newspaper emphasizes that this connection is not necessarily unambiguous, and that in some countries the increase in unemployment does not automatically mean an increase in crime. However, according to experts, in Korea, where there is practically no system social security, and where a person who has lost his job cannot count on generous state benefits, the growth of unemployment cannot but lead to a worsening of the crime situation.

Recently, what is called "white-collar crime" in the West, that is, official crime, all kinds of fraud and, of course, tax evasion, has also been growing. Koreans, like Russians, do not like to pay taxes and do not consider tax evasion to be a big sin (the difference, however, is that tax rates in Korea are usually two to three times lower than in Russia). The newspaper "Hanguk Ilbo" in a lengthy article even called Korea "a country of unpaid taxes" (perhaps Russia could challenge this title). According to the newspaper, which cites a study by Korean economists, only 45% of the total amount theoretically due goes to the state budget, while the remaining 55% is hidden by taxpayers.

Foreigners, especially from Western countries, who in Korea are considered rich people, so to speak, "by definition", are now also becoming victims of crime more often. Official diplomatic missions have also been victims at least twice this year. According to the newspaper "Munhwa Ilbo", on May 20, the criminals broke the window, entered the premises of the Norwegian embassy, and broke into the safe located there. The thieves were not lucky, as there was not much money in the safe, about 550,000 won ($400). But the Austrian consulate was less fortunate. On April 15, criminals stole money and jewelry from there for a very solid amount - 150 million won (110 thousand dollars). To be fair, the Korean government, which is extremely concerned about the country's international prestige, is doing everything possible to prevent crimes against foreigners. Knowing this, Korean criminals most often overcome the understandable temptation to inquire about the contents of the pockets of a Western stranger they come across.

Under the new conditions, work has also increased for Korean mafiosi. It must be said that, until recently, the Korean government as a whole was successful in curbing the activities of the mafia. The task of completely eradicating organized crime (in our time is quite unrealistic) seems to have never been seriously set here, but the police kept local organized crime groups within the framework and did not allow them to interfere in legal business. Traditionally, organized crime in Korea dealt with illegal or semi-legal business, where the authorities turned a blind eye to its activities. Shops, shops, workshops, not to mention medium-sized companies, usually had nothing to do with bandits, while formally prohibited prostitution or gambling could not do without a bandit "roof". Often, mafiosi were also involved in order to "deal with" non-payment of debts, and in the latter case, respectable businessmen sometimes turned to their "services" (to get debts through the courts in Korea is, to put it mildly, not easy). Under the conditions of the crisis, it is understandable that the number of outstanding debts increased sharply, and the effectiveness of the judiciary decreased, and this, according to the weekly Sisa Journal, led to a real boom in the activities of the local mafia. According to the magazine, the increased income of criminal gangs is often used for all sorts of financial fraud (for example, to create fictitious firms in order to obtain bank loans). The actions of organized crime groups have taken on such a scale that they are now being regarded as a potential threat to the economic stability of the country.

Another gloomy record is connected with the growth of crime.

According to the Gyeonghyang Sinmun newspaper, the Ministry of Justice reported that the number of prisoners in Korean prisons at the beginning of June was 56,000 (in addition, about 70,000 more - a record figure - are under investigation). Korean prisons and, especially, pre-trial detention centers were overwhelmed with a sudden flood of arrests. The number of arrests, as already mentioned, has almost doubled recently. Of course, the prison system was unprepared for this turn of events, and it's hard to blame it for that, given that over the past quarter century, crime in Korea has been slowly but steadily declining! In general, Korean prisons are now 130% full, and there is an average of only 1.5 square meters per prisoner. m. of camera area.

The newspaper "Segyo Sinmun" also published several materials that are devoted to the suddenly complicated situation in Korean prisons. Its pages contain excerpts from a letter from a young prisoner who writes about what is happening in the prison where he himself is serving a sentence (by the way, for violating the National Security Law, that is, on charges of aiding North Korea). According to him, in a cell designed for 10-15 prisoners, now there are up to 50 people. Many of them ended up in jail because they couldn't pay the fine (following the American model, Korean courts often offer the criminal a choice between paying a hefty fine or going to jail). The heat and crowding exhaust people. The author of the letter published in the newspaper notes that the situation in the prison became really difficult only in recent months, when the number of prisoners began to increase rapidly.

On the face serious problems, however, there is still no need to panic about the "rampant crime" in Korea, since there is no particular "rampant" there. It should not be forgotten that, no matter how high the growth rate of crime in recent months, the "starting level" from which this growth began was very low. That same 56,000 inmates may seem like an impressive number at first, but it looks a lot less impressive when you consider that there are about 20 times more prisoners in the US than there are now in Korea (while the US population as a whole is only larger in 5-odd times). An increase in the number of robberies by a third or even one and a half times is not very good news, but the number of robberies per 100,000 people in Korea has always been several times less than even in such prosperous countries as Germany or Great Britain (not to mention about the United States, where for every 100.00 inhabitants in 1994 there were no less than 30 times more robberies than in Korea). The activation of organized crime is indisputable, but even here it is necessary to make some amendments. When a couple of months ago one of the average businessmen, who, as a result of the current economic crisis, found himself unable to pay his debts, was beaten by bandits sent by a competitor and ended up in the hospital with a serious head injury, many newspapers and magazines wrote about it. This incident was perceived in Korea as something out of the ordinary, as an unusual and serious crime. There is probably no need to explain to readers of the Moscow criminal chronicle that such an incident would hardly arouse general interest in Russia, where similar issues have long been settled not with fists and brass knuckles, but with machine guns.

So, in general, Korea remains a safe country, but here, too, crime, alas, is becoming more and more tangible.