Transnational Crime

Albanese’s Transnational Crime and the 21st century and Naim’s Illicit, discuss gun smuggling, human organ smuggling, and stolen property smuggling. From previous readings, we know that crimes such as these advance due to the fall of the Soviet Union, globalization, and even the advancement of technology. For each of these crimes, the authors elaborated on the type of harms that occurred, the benefits for those involved with these crimes, the challenges that are faced when trying to prevent these crimes, and finally what can be done to prevent each. Gun smuggling involves the trafficking of armory that can be sold to individual, businesses, and or also countries. There are many risk factors that are involved with this crime that can impact …show more content…
The victims of human organ smuggling are typically individuals from poor countries who want to make money because they desperately need to; however, not all victims are willing. Some victims of human organ smuggling are often coaxed into surgery for minor conditions and wake up without their kidneys, this happens in countries such as India and Brazil (Naim,2005). Also, orphans and street children are vulnerable regarding this type of crimes because they are usually killed or taken without their will for their organs to be harvested(Naim,2005). Kidney sellers do not enjoy luxuries and are often held in safe houses and whisked in and out of the transplant country, without a follow up or protection from complications(Naim,2005). Countries such as China, have broadened the range of capital offenses causing more executions, potentially because of the lucrative organs market, since that means more profit(Naim,2005). Just like gun smuggling, the smugglers face the risk of being arrested and their business dismantled. However, though the harm factors are high, for many of the victims there are benefits. For instance, giving away your organs is a commonplace way to earn money, typically for young men and women(Naim,2005). Also, not all organs serve the transplant market but rather serve pharmaceutical research(Naim,2005). The challenges involved in …show more content…
The goods that are stolen are usually taken from unexpecting victims, whose goods are sold back in the market for a higher and occasionally a lower cost, to raise the demand of consumers. However, the smuggler tends to deal with pressures that primarily from regulators, competitors, and victimized businesses who sometimes hire private investigators to recover their merchandise(Albanese,2011). Just like gun smuggling and human organ smuggling, stolen property smuggling not only deal with harm factors but also have benefits for those involved. For example, the smuggler has no fear in disturbing stolen good since criminals, average citizens, and unscrupulous business owners provide steady demand for low price products(Albanese,2011). Trying to prevent these crimes can be quite challenging because most stolen property laws require an element of the offense that a person “knows” their property was stolen. However, this legal requirement prevents the prosecution of those who might unknowingly or mistakenly come into contact with stolen property(Albanese,2011). To prevent these crimes both short and long term measures can be taken. For instance, removing the ease of profitability frim trafficking in stolen vehicles can include better anti-theft features, better monitoring of temporary licenses plates, and better communication between law enforcement and public