The Caviar Network / temporal network with 11 phases from Carlo Morselli: Inside Criminal Networks. Springer, New York, 2009. Additional data from Carlo Morselli, Cynthia Giguere: Legitimate strengths in criminal networks. Crime, Law & Social Change (2006) 45: 185–200.
An initial extraction of all names appearing in the surveillance data led to the identification of 318 individuals. From this pool, 208 individuals were not implicated in trafficking. Most were simply named during the many transcripts of conversation, but never detected. Others who were detected had no clear participatory role within the network (e.g., family members or legitimate entrepreneurs). The final network, therefore, was composed of 110 participants. The matrix was designed to keep track of ‘who-called-who’ within this network.
Past research has identified individuals who supplied such resources in criminal networks under the more generic term, “facilitators”
110 participants. At the end of the investigation, 25 participants were arrested, 22 were charged, and 14 were found guilty.
The individual N1 initiated the importation network and was the main coordinator of hashish importations. N12 was a Colombian associate who was the main coordinator for cocaine importations. N3 was the described as a N1’s lieutenant, but more detailed analysis demonstrated that he was a key liaison between N1 and N3
82 traffickers (N1 to N82). They were involved in the planning, coordination, and physical movement of the illegal commodity. The remaining 28 participants were designated as the legitimate segment, or non-traffickers, in the network (N83 to N110).
N1, the main hashish coordinator, generated 44% of the network (n = 48); N12, the main cocaine coordinator, generated 12% of the network (n = 13). The third most important seed was N87, a financial investor who brought 9% (n = 10) of the nodes into the Caviar network.
22 participants of the Caviar network were accused. Six were non-traffickers (N83, N86, N87, N88, N96 and N101).
For the 14 who were found guilty and condemned to incarceration, the average prison sentence was 6.5 years. The most severe sentences were given to the principal coordinators of the hashish and cocaine consignments: N12 (15 years) and N1 (11 years).
The financial investor, N87, who was among the accused and who received one of the more severe sentences (8 years).
An accountant, N85, who was arrested but not accused. Both N85 and N89 represented legitimate entrepreneurs
N83, N86, N88, N96, and N101 all had non-financial roles. N83, N86, and N88 were money carriers; N96 and N101 were legitimate importers who lent traffickers their services and company name.
Only two received prison sentences: N83 (31/2 years) and N101 (41/2 years). The remaining three were the only participants who were accused, but who were not convicted. Charges were dropped against N86 and both N88 and N96 received suspended sentences in exchange for their collaboration as informants.
N85, who was the network’s main accountant and a close contact to N1, was identified by officials as the principal participant emerging from a legitimate occupational setting.