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Organized Crime Cases Vienna International Centre, PO Box 500, 1400 Vienna, Austria Tel.: (+43-1) 26060-0, Fax: (+43-1) 26060-5866, www.unodc.org Digest of organized crime cases A compilation of cases with commentaries and lessons learned United Nations publication Printed in Austria Prepared in cooperation with The Government of Colombia The Government of Italy INTERPOL V.12-55802—October 2012—500 UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME Vienna DIGEST OF ORGANIZED CRIME CASES A compilation of cases with commentaries and lessons learned UNITED NATIONS New York, 2012 © United Nations, October 2012. All rights reserved. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. This publication has not been formally edited. Publishing production: English, Publishing and Library Section, United Nations Office at Vienna. CONTENTS Acknowledgements . v Prefaces . vii Director-General/Executive Director of UNODC ................................................. vii Representative of Italy ......................................................................... viii Representative of Colombia .................................................................... x Secretary General of INTERPOL ............................................................... xi Summary . xiii Introduction . 1 I . Organized crime: its nature and criminalization . 5 A. Policies against organized crime. Organized crime offences. 5 B. Patterns of criminal organization ................................................... 13 C. Participation in an organized criminal group ........................................ 21 D. Liability of legal persons ........................................................... 26 E. Transnational offences and jurisdiction .............................................. 28 II . Investigation and prosecution . 33 A. Investigative and prosecutorial approaches to organized crime ......................... 33 B. Institutional setting: specialized entities for organized crime ........................... 39 C. Special investigative techniques ..................................................... 42 D. Other investigative techniques ...................................................... 47 E. Protection of witnesses ............................................................ 49 III . International law enforcement and judicial cooperation . 53 A. The international legal basis ........................................................ 53 B. Law enforcement cooperation ...................................................... 57 C. Institutional aspects ............................................................... 64 D. INTERPOL ...................................................................... 68 E. Joint investigative teams ........................................................... 72 F. Mutual legal assistance and extradition .............................................. 80 IV . Measures related to proceeds of crime . 87 A. Policy and legal basis .............................................................. 87 B. Extended confiscation. Forfeiture in rem. Non-conviction-based confiscation. 90 C. International cooperation in the execution of confiscation ............................. 96 iii V . Features of specific offences . 99 A. Maritime piracy .................................................................. 99 B. Firearms ......................................................................... 101 C. Environmental crime .............................................................. 105 D. Cultural property ................................................................. 108 E. Cybercrime ...................................................................... 110 VI . Prevention . 117 A. General issues .................................................................... 117 Annexes I. Country case abbreviations ............................................................. 121 II. List of cases divided by type of offences ................................................. 122 III. List of experts ........................................................................ 129 IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Digest of Organized Crime Cases was developed by the Implementation Support Section of the Organized Crime and Illicit Trafficking Branch, under the supervision of Mr. John Sandage, Director, Division for Treaty Affairs (DTA/OCB/ISS) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The Digest initiative as a whole was coordinated by Ms. Simonetta Grassi (UNODC). The Digest was drafted by Mr. Gioacchino Polimeni (Senior Legal Consultant), with the support of Ms. Simonetta Grassi (UNODC), Mr. Ricardo Peixoto (Legal Consultant), Ms. Livier Calderon (Intern), Ms. Dayan Faria (Intern), Mr. Sergio Rea (Intern) and Mr. Pascal Valette (Intern). Valuable contributions were provided by many UNODC staff members, in particular (in alphabetical order): Ms. Mounia Ben Hammou, Mr. Mike De Feo (consultant), Ms. Simone Heri, Ms. Tejal Jesrani, Ms. Karen Kramer, Mr. Aldo Lale-Demoz, Mr. Pierre Lapaque, Ms. Luz Elena Restrepo (consultant), Mr. Stephen Thurlow, Ms. Veronic Wright. The English version of the Digest was edited by Ms. Mary Albot (editor). Overall logistic and administrative support was provided by Ms. Hilda-Olivia Sarkissian. The development of the Digest would not have been possible without the financial and in-kind support of the Governments of Colombia and Italy, and Interpol. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is thankful to the following persons and institutions, that have made the development of the Digest possible: Partners Colombia Ms. María Ángela Holguín, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Colombia; Major General José Roberto León Riaño, Director General, National Police of Colombia, President American Police Community—AMERIPOL; Major General Edgar Orlando Vale Mosquera, Deputy Director General, National Police of Colombia; Colonel Jorge Luis Vargas Valencia, Directorate of Police Intelligence, DIPOL, National Police of Colombia; Colonel Joaquin Fernando Buitrago Rueda, Chief of International Affairs Office, National Police of Colombia; Major Carlos Andrés Martínez Romero, Chief of International Affairs, Directorate of Police Intelligence, DIPOL. Italy Ministry of Foreign Affairs Directorate General for Development Cooperation Directorate General for Political Affairs and Security Ministry of Interior Ms. Annamaria Cancellieri, Minister of Interior, Republic of Italy; Prefect Francesco Cirillo, Deputy Director General of Public Security and Central Director of Criminal Police; Brigadier General Fabrizio Lisi, Director V of the International Police Cooperation Service, Guardia di Finanza; Police Brigadier General Filippo Dispenza, Head of the State Police Provincial Headquarters of Alessandria Police; Colonel Gennaro Capoluongo, Head of Cabinet of the International Police Cooperation Service; Police Lieutenant Colonel Claudio Martini, Head of the Bilateral and Multilateral Relations and Cooperation Agreements Section, International Police Cooperation Service; Ms. Vittoria Palmerini, Expert in Bilateral and Multilateral Relations and cooperation Agreements at the International Police Cooperation Service. Anti-Mafia National Directorate Mr. Giovanni Grasso, National Anti-mafia Prosecutor, Antimafia National Directorate; Mr. Giustino Sciacchitano, Deputy Anti-Mafia Prosecutor, General Prosecutor’s Office, Antimafia National Directorate. Interpol Mr. Ronald K. Noble, Secretary General Mr. Gianni Baldi, Assistant Director, Drug Control and Criminal Organizations Sub-Directorate. Experts The Digest is the result of a broad participatory process involving experts in the areas of law enforcement and prosecution from several regions of the world. Those experts contributed their time, imparted their expertise, shared their cases and experiences and brought boundless energy and enthusiasm to the process of elaborating the Digest. Most of them have also participated in at least one of the three expert group meetings held in Rome (Italy), Cartagena (Colombia) and Palermo (Italy). UNODC is profoundly grateful for their personal dedication and also for having remained committed to the initiative by providing feedback, commentary and suggestions throughout the process of developing the Digest and generating tangible and practical lessons learned. A full list of experts (in alphabetical order) appears in annex I. • Special thanks go to the interpreters and translators of the Italian Ministry of Interior and the National Police of Colombia who have assisted during the three meetings of experts and translated the Digest into other languages. VI PREFACE Director-General/Executive Director United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Over the past twenty years, the international community has been increasingly concerned about the threats posed by transnational organized crime. The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention) represents a first decisive response to these threats and provides a unique set of legal tools and a framework for concerted criminal policy. The sharing of the knowledge of practitioners is an effective tool that supports the implementation of the Palermo Convention, and in general, the criminal justice response to organized crime.
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