Organised crime is not a new phenomenon: twentieth-century history alone boasts many famous examples of organised criminal activity, from the capillary requests for protection money in southern Italy in the ongoing struggle between state and mafia to the bootlegging and thriving speakeasies of the Prohibition Era in 1920s America. Recently, however, new manifestations of organised crime have captured the attention of the international media and of policy-makers, with such disparate issues as drug-related gang violence in Mexico, people trafficking, sexual exploitation rings and Internet piracy. Perhaps of greater significance, organised crime is also increasingly perceived as a transnational phenomenon, no longer contained within state borders - and therefore one that may require a co-ordinated response by international actors even when its manifestation is beyond their jurisdiction.
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