Organized Criminals?

This chapter describes how concerns about the dangers posed by ‘Mr Big’ mafia bosses, who have secured the skills and resources to threaten national security, have shaped global responses to trafficking. Through the analysis of four case studies relating to offenders involved with criminal enterprises that spanned international borders, we appraise how useful the concept of organized crime is in relation to modern slavery. The four men depicted in this chapter were all influenced by father figures who they revered as well as by paternalistic and macho attitudes towards women and family life that obscured how limited the options were confronting some of the women who became indebted through illegal migration journeys, or who made such journeys because they had debts to pay.