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African Criminal Enterprises

African Criminal Enterprises impacting the United States are criminal groups organized by members who predominantly originate from Nigeria, but also with some criminal groups originating from other African countries, such as Ghana and Liberia. In the United States, African Criminal Enterprises have been identified in several major metropolitan areas from coast to coast, but are most prevalent in Atlanta; Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Milwaukee; Dallas; Houston; New York; and Newark.

Nigerian Criminal Enterprises are the most significant of the African Criminal Enterprises in the United States and are also operating in more than 80 other countries of the world. They are a significant emerging criminal threat confronting law enforcement agencies worldwide. Nigerian Criminal Enterprises are some of the most aggressive and expansionist international criminal groups and are primarily engaged in drug trafficking and financial frauds.

African Criminal Enterprises have developed quickly since the 1980s due to the globalization of the world's economies and the great advances in communications technology. The ease of international travel, expanded world trade, and financial transactions that cross national borders have enabled African Criminal Enterprises to expand their roles from more traditional local and regional criminal groups to that of targeting international victims and developing criminal networks within countries and regions of the world with greater prosperity. The political, social, and economic conditions in African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Liberia have contributed significantly to some criminal ethnic groups from these countries developing criminal enterprises worldwide, and within the United States.

Drug trafficking of Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin into Europe and the United States, as well as cocaine trafficking from South America into Europe and South Africa are the most profitable activities of the Nigerian Criminal Enterprises. The money laundering aspects of this criminal activity has also greatly contributed to Nigerian Criminal Enterprises establishing themselves on every populated continent of the world. With large populations of ethnic Nigerians in India, Pakistan, and Thailand, Nigerian Criminal Enterprises have cultivated direct access to heroin supplies in these regions of the world which account for more than 90% of the worldwide heroin production.

Financial frauds by Nigerian Criminal Enterprises have accounted for losses estimated to be one to two billion dollars in the United States alone, and may be twice as much worldwide. These schemes are diverse and target not only individuals but businesses and government offices as well. Insurance fraud involving automobile accidents, healthcare billing scams, and life insurance schemes are tremendously profitable for Nigerian Criminal Enterprises. Bank, check, and credit card fraud schemes are also very lucrative. Advance Fee schemes, also known as 4-1-9 letters are worldwide problems, especially with the advent of Internet e-mail systems. Document fraud, to develop false identities, contributes to the difficulty of law enforcement in all countries to stem the flow of Nigerian Criminal Enterprise activities.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

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