Intelligence, National Security, and International Crime

• NCJ Number: 149208
• Author(s): R J Woolsey
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 25 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Legislative Hearing/Committee Report
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Opening statement of the Director of Central Intelligence before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, April 20, 1994.

Annotation

This statement by the Director of Central Intelligence before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations focuses on the structure and activities of international organized crime and current and proposed U.S. strategies for combating it.

Abstract

The activities of such groups range from the production and sale of illegal drugs to support for terrorist groups, smuggling illegal aliens, engaging in financial and banking fraud, and attempting to broker the purchase of materials for the production of weapons of mass destruction. These criminal groups are characterized by enormous financial resources, international links, and a proclivity for violence. They are relying increasingly on technology and sophisticated international business techniques to maintain their operations and thwart law enforcement efforts. Narcotics trafficking is the international criminal activity with the most serious impact on societies and the primary money-maker for criminal groups. After a discussion of international narcotics trafficking, this statement discusses terrorist enterprises, trafficking in materials and weapons of mass destruction, and the proliferation of organized crime in Russia. The statement concludes with a description of the intelligence work being done to counter international organized crime. The general focus is on cooperation between intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies on an international scale. This has included the establishment of a task force to examine the most effective way to enhance cooperation between such agencies.