Tue. Feb 11th, 2025

Gang Financing & Motivation for Membership

Aside from drugs, gangs may finance themselves through a variety of illicit activities. While the drug trade is often the most visible source of income, gangs can diversify their operations to include other criminal enterprises.

Some key ways gangs might generate funds and offer financial rewards to their members are below, but do these apply to Bermuda?


1. Extortion and Protection Rackets

  • Local Businesses: Gangs may extort money from local businesses in exchange for “protection” or to avoid harassment.
  • Community Members: Individuals may be pressured into paying fees to ensure their safety or the safety of their families.

2. Illegal Gambling

  • Underground Gambling Rings: Gangs could run unregulated gambling operations, such as card games, sports betting, or animal-fighting, generating significant cash flow.
  • Extorting Legal Operators: They might demand a cut from legitimate gambling establishments.

3. Human Trafficking and Exploitation

  • Sex Trafficking: Gangs might exploit vulnerable individuals for profit, forcing them into prostitution or other exploitative activities.
  • Labour Exploitation: They could engage in illegal labour practices, exploiting undocumented workers or coercing individuals into low-paid work.

4. Weapon Smuggling

  • Gun Trade: Bermuda’s strategic location in the Atlantic could make it a stopover or destination for illegal weapons trafficking.
  • Local Distribution: Gangs could sell smuggled firearms or knives to other criminal groups or individuals.

5. Cybercrime

  • Online Fraud: Gangs could engage in scams like phishing, identity theft, or ransomware attacks targeting individuals and businesses.
  • Credit Card Fraud: They might steal and resell credit card information or use it to purchase goods they can later sell for cash.

6. Theft and Burglary

  • Residential Break-Ins: Gangs may organize burglaries to steal valuables from homes.
  • Vehicle Theft: Cars, motorcycles, or bicycles might be stolen for resale or to strip for parts – unlikely in such a small community, pool of cars
  • Business Thefts: Targeting high-value goods or cash from commercial properties – disposal presents a problem; to whom will they be sold.  Sale abroad means costly, potentially risky, exportation.

7. Smuggling (Non-Drug Goods)

  • Luxury Goods: High import duties in Bermuda create a market for smuggling luxury items like  electronics, or designer goods.
  • Cigarettes or Alcohol: Gangs could import these items illegally and sell them below the market price.

8. Loan Sharking

  • Predatory Lending: Gangs could lend money to individuals or businesses at extremely high interest rates, often using intimidation to enforce repayment.
  • Debt Enslavement: Victims unable to repay loans may be coerced into criminal activities as a form of repayment.

9. Fraud and Counterfeiting

  • Counterfeit Goods: Gangs might sell fake designer clothes, handbags, or electronics.
  • Document Forgery: Creating fake passports, IDs, or visas for illegal migration or other uses.
  • Insurance Fraud: Staging accidents or property damage to claim pay-outs.

10. Real Estate and Land Fraud – complex & sophisticated, likely beyond Bermuda’s gangs

  • Illegal Rentals: Gangs could take over properties and rent them out without authorization.
  • Land Scams: Selling land they don’t own or falsifying property ownership documents.

11. Black Market Activities

  • Stolen Goods: Reselling stolen items like electronics, jewellery, or vehicles.
  • Exotic Animals: Smuggling and selling rare or endangered species, especially if there’s a demand among wealthy individuals – more the domain of the USA, large communities.  There is little place to hide in Bermuda!

12. Bribery and Corruption

  • Influencing Officials: Gangs may pay off local officials, law enforcement, or customs agents to turn a blind eye to illegal activities or ensure smooth operations.

13. Control of Public Events or Entertainment – unlikely given Bermuda’s size

  • Club or Event Infiltration: Gangs might control venues, concerts, or other gatherings to generate income through entry fees, bar sales, or drug sales at events.
  • Ticket Scalping: Controlling and reselling event tickets at inflated prices.

14. Environmental Exploitation – more targeted at large mainland populations

  • Illegal Fishing or Poaching: Exploiting marine resources in protected areas or trafficking in rare species.
  • Waste Disposal: Illegally dumping waste or charging for unregulated waste disposal services.

15. Connections to International Crime Networks – beyond Bermuda’s gangs?

  • Money Laundering: Acting as intermediaries for laundering money from international criminal organizations.
  • Contract Work: Providing services, like smuggling or enforcement, for larger criminal networks.

By diversifying their income streams, gangs can reduce their reliance on drug trafficking while maintaining financial stability. Tackling these activities requires a comprehensive approach that includes law enforcement, community engagement, and addressing the social and economic factors that make gang involvement appealing in the first place.

But are these realistic activities of Bermuda’s gangs?