7 Biggest and Most Famous Crime Syndicates in the World

Most of what people know about crime syndicates and mafia families around the world comes from movies, documentaries, and video games. Crime syndicates might actually seem like a thing of the past, since they’re not in the news as often anymore. However, many crime syndicates are still alive and well, but they’ve started paying more attention to keeping their organized crime more secret.

Here are the 7 biggest and most famous crime syndicates in the world.

Chinese triads

The Chinese triads operate in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and mainland China. Needless to say the bulk of their operations revolve around drug trafficking and counterfeiting. However, a new lucrative money-making opportunity presented itself recently — healthcare fraud.

Russian Mafia

It’s difficult to say how deeply rooted organized crime is in the politics of the country, but it’s undeniable that many oligarchs and politicians got their start by participating in less-than-legal affairs. A lot of organized crime in Russia revolves around drug trafficking, weapon sales, and schemes where certain businesses are “protected” by something more than the law and the criminal/justice system of the country.

Cali cartels

This one is all about drugs, and it’s crucial to the whole business of drug trafficking from Colombia. The real “Cali Cartel” was founded by the Rodriguez Orejuela brothers (Miguel and Gilberto), and has been operating for 15 years between 1980 and 1995. It is estimated that by the mid 90’s their empire was a multibillion-dollar enterprise! Needless to say the cartel still exists today, but it’s not what it used to be.