Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Since 2000, organized criminal groups have been linked to approximately 95,000 homicides each year—comparable to the average annual deaths from armed conflicts, estimated at around 92,000 globally. Despite these similar figures, organized crime receives significantly less international attention, according to the United Nations.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized that transnational organized crime undermines governance, fosters corruption, and spreads violence, lawlessness, death, and destruction. These impacts go beyond statistics, affecting countless lives.
The experience of Mary, a trafficking victim from Benin City, Nigeria, reflects this reality. Hoping for legitimate employment, she was instead coerced into exploitation and endured sexual violence. Mary spoke of lasting psychological trauma but also expressed hope for education and work. Many survivors share both deep trauma and fragile hope.
Organized crime often operates within communities, economies, and even legitimate institutions, influencing local power dynamics and sometimes rivaling state authority. Research by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime indicates that organized criminal networks are responsible for about one-fifth of all intentional homicides worldwide—rising to nearly half in some parts of the Western Hemisphere.