Modus Operandi (27 page)

Turkish Smugglers

Like other organized crime groups, Turkish heroin traders are almost all Turkish nationals. Turkish heroin smuggling is a family-owned small business that smuggles to relatives living in the United States. Turkish smugglers will also deal to Italian crime families. Heroin smuggled through Europe is transported in trucks that continue right into England. The truck is then loaded onto ship.

Istanbul, where most of the international flights from Turkey begin, is the center for the heroin smuggling. The drugs will flow from Istanbul, to Italy, Spain, Germany and the Baltic states. Because this flight pattern is well known, heroin smugglers use connecting flights from these countries to countries not known for narcotics smuggling. The Turkish smugglers hide their narcotics in hidden compartments in their clothes, carry-on luggage, cargo shipments and even mail. Sometimes, the narcotics will be smuggled in products, such as rugs or clothing made in the region.

Smuggling also occurs through small fishing ships and freighters. The small fishing vessels are accustomed to reporting to sea on a daily or weekly basis. While the small ships are out to sea, they will meet up with the larger seagoing freighters and the contraband will be transported from one ship to the other. These small fishing vessels will then return to shore and, either by disguising the contraband in their fish or by working during the night, remove the contraband.

Countries in Conflict

Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Lebanon, West Africa and others all partially finance their struggles through the heroin trade. These countries, with the exception of Lebanon, smuggle heroin through a network of nationals and family members. Lebanon is assisted by Syria's.

Mexico is a substantial supplier of heroin used in the United States. This heroin is sometimes referred to as black tar, or brown tar, and is of very poor quality. Mexican smugglers bring their product across the border by truck or small private airplanes. Occasionally, the heroin will be hidden in products shipped to the United States.

Smuggling People into the U.S.

Whether it is for political or financial reasons or an attempt to flee law enforcement officials, people wish to leave their home country and emigrate to the United States. Asians, South Americans, Haitians and Africans comprise the primary influx of illegal aliens.

Most Asian — Chinese and Vietnamese — smugglers place large numbers of human cargo onto a small non-seaworthy ship and set sail for the United States. Ships have been located smuggling people to both coasts, and once in the United States, the people turn to prostitution and other illegal activities as a way to pay back the cost of transportation.

Mexico and South America create another nightmare for United States officials. Smugglers load up shipping trucks and attempt to elude officials by using little-known roads through the desert. This is very hazardous to the human cargo because they are sealed up in cramped quarters without proper ventilation or away to take care of basic human needs. The smugglers have been known to collect their fees and leave their cargo in the desert or even kill them.

Wealthy aliens seek out visas and other official papers needed to gain entry into the United States. Once inside, they reside in communities with their native people.

What type of people are shoplifting nowadays? Well, as you might expect, there are a large number of junkies who support their habit by shoplifting, but large numbers of professionals, housewives, teenagers, and people who have never before thought of stealing are turning to shoplifting.

As you may have guessed, the worse the economy and the higher the unemployment, the more shoplifting there is. Shoplifting is one of the few crimes directly related to the nation's economy. If someone does not have the money to pay for food because he's been laid off, he has to find a way to come home with what he did the week before. Some people will go out and get a job, some people will go out and get a second job, some people will do neither: Their primary job will be shoplifting. On the flip side, you would be surprised to know that many shoplifters, when caught, have more than enough money to pay for the items that they lifted.

Shoplifting: A Definition

Shoplifting is theft from the selling floor while a store is open for business. If an item is stolen from a storeroom in the back, that is burglary. If an employee steals merchandise or money from the store, that is internal theft. If a burglar or thief steals from another individual, that is robbery. Shoplifting, then, is defined as
larceny committed by the public.

Reasons Why Amateurs Lift

In many cases a shoplifter sees something he or she desires greatly but does not have the money to buy. The items most susceptible to being stolen are those that are new on the market, because many people want the latest item, whether it be clothing or a home entertainment system. But they cannot afford it, so they shoplift it. They want to be cool,
now
not later.

Some shoplifters are the type of people who are shy, introverted and feel, in general, that no one respects them. Stealing is a power trip to them. By stealing and walking out of the store, they are in control of a situation. These people easily crumble under pressure and will cooperate fully when confronted with their crime.

Sad but true, many teenagers shoplift for one reason, to get the attention they lack at home. But how, you may ask, do they get attention if they are successful? Perhaps they leave the merchandise in a conspicuous place at home, hoping their parents will notice and question them about it. But, most likely, they will continue to shoplift until they are caught in the store. Mom or Dad must then come down to the store and rescue them.

Some psychologists believe that teenage shoplifting is a hostile act of defiance of authority and is an attempt to get back at their parents for something. This behavior may also be apparent in a husband or wife, who wishes to punish a domineering spouse.

Some people steal because they received poor service in the store. Many people who have been caught shoplifting picked out an item and first waited in line twenty minutes or more. After a long wait, they put the item in their bag or under their arm and left, thinking to themselves, "Well, if they want to make me wait twenty minutes to give them my money, they can just try and get me to pay for it."

Many shoplifters are older persons who are forced to live on a fixed income; their pension may have been enough years ago, but with today's prices, the money just won't go far. Trapped in this hopeless situation, they may turn to shoplifting.

Another interesting character who shoplifts is the person who does not actually need the item, who has plenty of money to pay for it, but believe it or not, they feel like their life is so boring they want to spice it up. Stealing is a game to them. If they can make their way out of the store with the item, they've won. It's kind of like chess, only sometimes they're checkmated and get caught.

The people described above are average amateur shoplifters. When they steal, they are usually alone and won't take anything other than what they need or desire.

The Professional Shoplifter

It doesn't take a whole lot of common sense to realize why the professional shoplifter steals: It's his livelihood. He makes his living by getting something for nothing. One thing you must remember about the professional shoplifter is that he or she seldom steals anything for himself. Whatever he takes he will sell or fence on the street. Most of the time, the professional shoplifter works by order. A person wants something and sends out some feelers to friends; a certain friend may reply that he can get it for him "wholesale." Most of the time the person who originally requested the item has no idea that his friend actually stole it.

Professional shoplifters are much like professional burglars in that they know exactly where everything is in the stores that they hit: security personnel, cameras, entrances and exits. They may spend days or weeks learning the layout of their targets. The professional shoplifter is experienced at this business and gets the job done quickly and cleanly. He often has a police record and may have organized crime connections who supply bail and get him out of jail, when needed.

The professional shoplifter will usually confine his efforts to a store located in an urban area. Even though the professional may not live in that area, he will pay to travel, because his bounty is tremendous. The greater density of people living in urban areas makes it much easier to unload the merchandise.

The Ideal Target

The professional shoplifter looks for stores with ideal conditions for theft. First, they select a medium to large store heavily stocked with merchandise. They will not select a small store because those are more easily supervised by security cameras and personnel. Additionally, believe it or not, a shoplifter likes a crowded store because there are more people in the aisles and more diversions for security personnel or clerks.

The worst thing a shoplifter can do is enter at the very beginning or very end of the day, because that is when the store is usually the least crowded and most filled with salespeople. In the morning management is usually present and the salespeople are milling around drinking coffee and waiting for customers to come in. At the end of the day, there is usually a manager on hand to count the take for the day, lock the store, and set the alarm, while other personnel are hanging around waiting for the store to close.

So, our perfect store is one that is medium to large with lots of traffic and located located in an urban area. Let's say the store is a K mart located in a major city in northern New Jersey. A professional shoplifting team may operate in many different ways.

The Diverson Technique

In the diversion technique the professional shoplifter, who already has been in the store many times and knows exactly where the merchandise is, will target a particular piece of merchandise. Let's say, the new Flowbee hair cut-

ting systems, which are selling on television for $109.95. K. mart has them in stock and on sale at $89.95. To take this merchandise out of the store the shoplifting team must be prepared to: (1) be able to steal the merchandise, and (2) be able to take the merchandise out of the store without being detected. Let's go down the aisle now, in K mart, where the Flowbees are stacked and follow the team as they operate, shall we?

The shoplifting team enters the store, usually separately. They walk down the aisle several times before they actually decide to perform the shoplifting. Sometimes a shoplifting team will be unable to steal the item they came for because of a clerk stocking merchandise or taking inventory on that aisle. The shoplifters will not hang around in the store, but will return at another time. Remember, these are professionals who rely on particular merchandise to pay their bills for the week, so they will not settle. If they came in for the Flowbees, they will not settle for shoelaces just to make a quick buck. They will come back at another time for the desired merchandise.

Let's presume that shoplifters #1 and #2, a team, have entered the store separately and have cased the aisle and found that there is absolutely no reason why they cannot steal the Flowbees today. Here is how they work the aisle:

1. Shoplifter #1 will bring a bag or some other bulky item into the store to carry the Flowbees out.

2. While shoplifter #1 is in the vicinity of the Flowbees, shoplifter #2 will create a diversion several aisles away.

3. There are so many diversions to choose from! Shoplifter #2 may shriek and fake a heart attack, so personnel from the store and other shoppers rush to her aid. She may accidentally knock over a large display, and again personnel from the store and other people will come to see what exactly happened. Or, believe it or not, shoplifter #2 may report to store personnel that she has located a shoplifter in an aisle very far away from shoplifter #1.

But remember that shoplifters #1 and #2 already know what the diversion is going to be, when it will occur and their cues. So let's say that shoplifter #2 has decided to knock over a large display of Captain Crunch, in aisle three, while the Flowbees are located in aisle six. As shoplifter #2 knocks this over, many people rush to see what happened. Shoplifter #1 quickly loads as many Flowbees into the shopping bag as possible and exits the store.

4. There is absolutely no reason why shoplifters #1 and #2 must leave the store together. So once shoplifter #1 is out of the store, and shoplifter #2 can't be charged with any crime, she can stay in the store as long as she wants. What usually happens is that shoplifter #2 stays in the store for a little while and scopes another item to be stolen. Of course, the next time the shoplifting team enters this particular store, they will try another diversionary tactic. They will also switch roles in the next shoplifting.