top ten list is the top ten world most dangerous gangs
10. Area Boys
Territory: Nigeria and parts of Africa
Criminal activities: Drug trafficking, extortion, murder, inciting riots
Number of members: 35,000
Over the past three decades, Nigeria’s Area Boys have gone from young kids committing crimes of opportunity to a massive if still largely unorganized street gang responsible for acts of extortion and murder.
9. Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC)
Territory: Brazilian prison system
Criminal activities: Drug and gun trafficking, murder, extortion, prison riots, prison breaks, kidnappingNumber of members: 6,000-plus
A Brazilian gang, this gang is one of the newest Brazilian prison gangs to be formed. Founded in 1993 Primeiro Comando da Capital the gang is known to have carried out about 300 attacks, all of them being against public establishments. In order to become part of the Primeiro Comando da Capital, you have to be introduced by a regular member of the gang. An oath must also be accepted.
8. Jamaican Posse
Territory: Jamaica, Eastern United States, UK (known as “Yardies”)
Criminal activities: Drug and gun trafficking, witness intimidation, murder
Number of members: 13,000 to 20,000
Authorities have identified dozens of individual posses within the wider gang. The two most often cited are the Spangler Posse, aligned with the PNP, and the Shower Posse, aligned with the JLP. The Shower Posse reportedly takes its name from the “shower of bullets” it dispenses on its enemies.
The Jamaican Posse have ties in Eastern Canada and Southern US mainly in Florida and have established drugs routes in trafficking.
7. Aryan Brotherhood
Territory: U.S. federal and state prison systems
Criminal activities: Drug trafficking, conspiracy, murder, racketeering, contract killing
Number of members: 15,000-plus
The gang only makes up about 1% of prison populations, but size doesn’t matter to the Aryan Brotherhood. In fact, this gang is known for at least 26% of the murders that occur in prisons around the U.S. The Aryan Brotherhood is split into two groups, usually those in federal prisons and other members that are located in some of the smaller state prisons, especially those in California. In order to join the Aryan
Brotherhood, one has to kill or assault another prisoner.
6. Wah Ching
Territory: Hong Kong, San Francisco, Los Angeles
Criminal activities: Drug and gun trafficking, extortion, murder, software piracy, burglary, gambling, prostitution, loan sharking
Number of members: 100,000 Worldwide
The Wah Ching are also violent and sophisticated, as evidenced by two 1995 raids in Los Angeles that uncovered an underground factory run by the Wah Ching featuring $18 million in counterfeit Microsoft products. The raid also found weapons and explosives, namely TNT and C-4.
Wah Ching is a Chinese American street gang and Triad Society composed of different sets including Ken-Side, Sonny-Side, Paul-Side, T-Side, Alhambra-Side, and Monterey Park-Side, that operate mostly in Southern California but including areas throughout California and Vancouver, British Columbia. During their salad days, they controlled most of the criminal vices throughout San Francisco and Los Angeles’s Asian communities.
The gang has established drug trade routes in China white and the heroine trade.
Allies include Nuestra Familia, Bloods, Crips, Black Guerrilla Family, 14K Triad, Sun Yee On Triad, TAP Boyz, Big Circle Boys, Black Dragon Gang, DC Blacks
5. Bloods
Territory: Los Angeles
Criminal activities: Murder, drug trafficking, robbery, extortion
Number of members: 15,000 to 30,000
Thousands of members of the Blood street gang were establishing themselves as a formidable force among gangs and continued a steady drive for recruitment. At this time, the Bloods were more violent than other gangs but much less organized.
The Bloods are violent and run much of the inner city drugs in the US
4. 18th Street Gang
Territory: Los Angeles, Western and Southern U.S., Central America
Criminal activities: Drug and gun trafficking, robbery, extortion, murder, contract killing, prostitution
Number of members: 65,000
18th Street is considered to be the second largest gang in Los Angeles, California.
18th Street is a well established gang that is involved in all areas of street-crime (as opposed to corporate crime). Some members have even become involved in producing fraudulent Immigration and Customs Enforcement identification cards and food stamps. Several 18th Street gang members have evolved into a higher level of sophistication and organization than other gangs. They also have been linked to occurrences of murder, murder-for-hire, assaults, drug trafficking, extortion, vandalism, drug smuggling, prostitution, robbery, and weapons trafficking, as well as other crimes.
3. Crips
Territory: Los Angeles
Criminal activities: Drug trafficking, robbery, murder, extortion, ID theft
Number of members: 50,000
The alliance with the 18th Street Gang has strengthened has made the Crips even more powerful.
The Crips are one of the largest and most violent associations of street gangs in the United States, with an estimated 50,000 members. The gang is known to be involved in murders, robberies, and drug dealing, among many other criminal pursuits. The gang is known for its gang members’ use of the color blue in their clothing. However, this practice has waned due to police crackdowns on gang members.
2. Mexican Mafia
Territory: Prison but control most of the drugs and Mexican street gangs in the US
Criminal activities: Murder, money laundering, weapon trafficking, drug trafficking, Kidnapping, pandering, racketeering, extortion and illegal gambling
Number of members: 500-600 Inducted Members/ Leaders, over 50,000 Associates
The Mexican Mafia, also known as La Eme (Spanish for the letter M) is a Mexican-American criminal organization, and is one of the oldest and most powerful prison gangs in the United States.
The Mexican Mafia is the controlling organization for almost every Chicano gang in Southern California. All members of Chicano gangs in Southern California are obligated under the threat of death to carry out any and all orders from made Mexican Mafia members. The Mexican Mafia also holds a loose alliance with the Aryan Brotherhood, mainly due to their common rivals within the prison system.
The Mexican Mafia is an organization involved in extortion, drug trafficking, and murder, both inside and outside the prison system. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Mexican Mafia had arranged for contract killings to be carried out by the Aryan Brotherhood, a white prison gang. Both the Mexican Mafia and the Aryan Brotherhood are mutual enemies of the African-American gang Black Guerilla Family.
1 Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)
Territory: Central America, the United States
Criminal activities: Drugs, guns and human trafficking, murder, contract killing, extortion, kidnapping
Number of members: 70,000
Right now, the street gang getting the most attention around the world is MS-13. The gang is a product of the Cold War, born of refugees from the 1980s Salvadoran Civil War who landed in Los Angeles. For a street gang, MS-13 operates with extreme organizational efficiency.
The majority of the gang is ethnically composed of Central Americans and active in urban and suburban areas.
They have been the most violent and fast rising gang in the North America today. Even the Mexican Drug cartels are paying them for protection of their drug routes.
02:01
