title: The profits of organized crime: the illicit drug trade in Canada.
abstract: Massive funds that are produced from street-level crime are laundered upwards into the criminal organizations for the benefit of their top-level members. The laundering systems used to distribute the proceeds of crime are designed to conceal the size of the organization as well as the identity of its members. Crime syndicates are attracted to criminal activity that produces the highest profits with the lowest risks. Although organized crime syndicates derive profits from a wide variety of criminal activity, their most sought after ventures principally involve the consensual type of crimes, such as drug trafficking, where no one individual can be readily identified as a legal victim for the purpose of recovering the proceeds of a criminal act. A recent survey indicated that illicit drug trafficking accounted for 87 per cent of the cash flow generated from organized crime. When the proceeds are disbursed, the criminals are free of the usual civil liability respecting the ownership of the proceeds. Canada currently has several laws which enhance the ability of law-enforcement authorities to trace the proceeds of crime and prosecute those who possess the assets. This legislation has some limitations with respect to seizure and forfeiture of certain types of proceeds. For example, forfeiture of the illegally acquired property is difficult when there is no original legal owner to initiate legal action, and even more difficult if the assets are located abroad.
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D003415:Crime / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004335:Drug and Narcotic Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004467:Economics; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations