The underworld of gemstones

In recent decades prices of high-end “colored gemstones” (trade jargon for precious stones other than diamonds), like almost all “collectibles,” have risen dramatically. Demand has been spreading to economic classes formerly excluded at the same time the supply of high-quality material from natural sources falls, leading to constant searches for as yet undiscovered sites, which may take on the character of gold-rushes. While no doubt criminogenic factors have always existed within the gemstone business, periods of rapid price rise mean stronger temptation for illegal activities. The potential list of economic offenses, civil, regulatory and criminal, associated with the gemstones business includes: illegal mining, environmental offenses, bribery, gun-running, smuggling, “terrorist” (i.e. insurgent) financing, commercial fraud, mining-share swindles, money laundering and, not least, simple theft along with recycling stolen goods. This paper represents an attempt to understand the criminogenic factors in light of the history and current structures of the business. It fits the gemstone trade into a commercial, geo-strategic and sociological matrix, the three often interacting in mutually reinforcing ways. It asks whether, given the incentives and opportunities for illicit activity, relying primarily on industry self-regulation makes sense. But it questions whether the international regulatory regime now in place for diamonds can be applied to the far more diffuse supply-side of the colored gemstone market. The paper is divided into three parts. The first, “Under the Rainbow,” examined the shady side of gemstone mining in a geo-political context. The second “In the Eye of the Beholder” looked at fraud in cutting and polishing of rough gemstones into finished gems. The third, the current one, entitled “Hot Rocks, Cold Cash,” focuses on illicit activity in the retail jewelry trade.     

The underworld of gemstones

In recent decades prices of high-end “colored gemstones” (trade jargon for precious stones other than diamonds), like almost all “collectibles,” have risen dramatically. Demand has been spreading to economic classes formerly excluded at the same time the supply of high-quality material from natural sources falls, leading to constant searches (that may take on the character of gold-rushes) for as yet undiscovered sites. While no doubt criminogenic factors have always existed within the gemstone business, periods of rapid price rise mean stronger temptation for illegal activities. The potential list of economic offenses, civil, regulatory and criminal, associated with the gemstones business includes: illegal mining, environmental offenses, bribery, gun-running, smuggling, “terrorist”(i.e. insurgent) financing, commercial fraud, mining-share swindles, money laundering and, not least, simple theft along with recycling stolen goods. This paper represents an attempt to understand the criminogenic factors in light of the history and current structures of the business. It fits the gemstone trade into a commercial, geo-strategic and sociological matrix, the three often interacting in mutually reinforcing ways. It asks whether, given the incentives and opportunities for illicit activity, relying primarily on industry self-regulation makes sense. But it also questions whether the international regulatory regime now in place for diamonds can be applied to the far more diffuse supply-side conditions of the colored gemstone market. Methodologically, the paper is a research essay in the political economy of clandestine international economic activity, with particular focus on its historical, geo-strategic and sociological context rather than a more narrow, traditional criminological study. The second may work well enough when the activity under investigation is a crime per se, as with studies of illegal drugs. However when the activity is inherently legal, but conducted illegally, it is essential to understand thoroughly the nature and operation of the legal business to make sense of the illegal. The illegal is buried in and works concurrently with the legal, not in the narrow sense of having the legal as cover, but in a more profound sense of the legal and the illegal sharing attitudes and supporting institutions. The paper is divided into three parts. The first, “Under the Rainbow,”examines the shady side of gemstone mining in a geo-political context. The second, “In the Eye of the Beholder,” looks at fraud in cutting and polishing of rough gemstones into finished gems. The third, “Hot Rocks, Cold Cash,” focuses on illicit activity in the retail jewelry trade.     

The underworld of ivory

This paper examines the emergence and operation of the illegal market for ivory, paying particular attention to the institutional structure and criminogenic characteristics of the industry. It notes that many of the problems associated with modern regulation have deep historical roots. While much anti-animal trade rhetoric emphasizes the alleged participation of “organized crime” in the clandestine traffic, the reality is that, not just with ivory, but with all wildlife trade, the illegal market is run (and always has been run) by the same actors who operate the legal one, and with the same infrastructure. On the other hand, while much free-market rhetoric insists that regulations, along with taxes and prohibitions, simply lead to underground activity which frustrates the objectives of the policy, in reality the causes of the growth of the illegal market are much more complex. Certainly some illegal trade in ivory dates back to the very start of conservation regulations, but it was not sufficient to pose a threat to the survival of the affected species. Rapid growth of the illegal market really dates from the 1970s. It emerged in response, not to regulatory changes, but to inflated demand due to exogenous financial changes on one side and the interaction between increased human pressure on habitat and a shifting international geo-strategic context on the other. The ivory trade was associated with civil strife long before “blood diamonds” or “conflict timber” came into vogue. Pressure on the herds, which had reached apparently crisis proportions by the late 1980s, led to a shift from a regulatory to a prohibitory regime. Although that shift was presented as essential to save the species, the experience with supply-side controls in general calls such optimism into question. Legal initiatives originally evolved to affect market behavior in advanced industrial countries may be of dubious merit when applied to the radically different problem of policing “crimes against nature,” particularly in places where competition for resources is acute, administrative structures are weak, and governments may lack in legitimacy in the eyes of significant portions of their populations.     

The underworld of gemstones

In recent decades prices of high-end “colored gemstones” (trade jargon for precious stones other than diamonds), like almost all “collectibles,” have risen dramatically. Demand has been spreading to economic classes formerly excluded at the same time the supply of high-quality material from natural sources falls, leading to constant searches for as yet undiscovered sites, which may take on the character of gold-rushes. While no doubt criminogenic factors have always existed within the gemstone business, periods of rapid price rise mean stronger temptation for illegal activities. The potential list of economic offenses, civil, regulatory and criminal, associated with the gemstones business includes: illegal mining, environmental offenses, bribery, gun-running, smuggling, “terrorist”(i.e. insurgent) financing, commercial fraud, mining-share swindles, money laundering and, not least, simple theft along with recycling stolen goods. This paper represents an attempt to understand the criminogenic factors in light of the history and current structures of the business. It fits the gemstone trade into a commercial, geo-strategic and sociological matrix, the three often interacting in mutually reinforcing ways. It asks whether, given the incentives and opportunities for illicit activity, relying primarily on industry self-regulation makes sense. But it questions whether the international regulatory regime now in place for diamonds can be applied to the far more diffuse supply-side of the colored gemstone market. The paper is divided into three parts. The first, “Under the Rainbow,” examined the shady side of gemstone mining in a geo-political context. The current one, the second in the series, entitled “In the Eye of the Beholder,” looks at fraud in cutting and polishing of rough gemstones into finished gems. The third “Hot Rocks, Cold Cash” will focus on illicit activity in the retail jewelry trade.     

The underworld of art

Although crime in the market for fine arts has a long historical pedigree, the explosive growth of the market, and the conversion of art (along with collectible goods of all sorts) into speculative assets, that began or at least accelerated in the mid 1970s, focused increasing attention on the phenomenon. At the same time the issue of protecting cultural patrimony became a subject of greater contention between source and market countries, while common law and civil code jurisdictions struggled over how to reconcile approaches to regulation and enforcement. This paper highlights these issues with specific reference to the market for high-end paintings although its lessons are germane to all subdivisions of the collectibles market. It attempts to elucidate the main criminogenic factors—speculative shifts in demand, fraudulent supply, and illegal activity by various intermediary institutions ranging from dealers to appraisers to auction houses, while highlighting the role of collectors, museums, and financial institutions both as victims and active participants. Despite enduring myths about “organized crime,” illegal operations in the art market are the work overwhelmingly of insiders who alone have the technical knowledge and circle of intimates necessary to link an illicit supply with a demand that can range from the strictly legitimate, the legal but dubious, and the explicitly criminal. The critical lesson is that stolen, forged or smuggled material makes its way through much the same circles of intermediaries and ends up for the most part in the same locations and the same hands as artwork of legal origin.     

The criminal underworld of Medieval England

Abstract

In contrast to views put forward by Marjorie Blatcher, it is argued here that the impact of Bills of Custody on business in the court of King's Bench in the late fifteenth century can only be judged if all custodial bills are counted and only if special attention is given to those bills dealing with matters which would otherwise have been outside the court's normal jurisdiction. It is shown that the increase in the numbers of such cases is too modest to support Blatcher's claims of a massive increase in business since the 1450s, that the extension of the notion ‘in custody’ to people on bail did not happen in 1452, as she stated, but 20 years earlier, that it was extended to people on mainprise as well, at least for some time, and finally that fictitious Bills of Middlesex and writs latitat were not as important in connection with custodial bills as Blatcher thought.     

From underworld to underground

In the West economically motivated crime is usually perceived as a matter for the police while the performance of the economy is a matter for the political authorities. This paper argues that the growth and evolution of the modern underground economy has made such a distinction obsolete. Not only have the frontiers between the legitimate and the criminal sectors of the economy blurred, but the distinction between the explicitly criminal and the merely informal aspects of the modern underground economy has become largely meaningless. Given the tremendous growth of underground activity, this means that the issue must now be addressed not just on the enterprise level, as a police matter, but on the level of the economy as a whole, by economic policy makers. This in fact is something that many developing countries long ago realized. The paper therefore asks whether developing countries have been any more successful in using monetary, fiscal and balance of payments policy to mitigate the adverse social and economic impact of widespread underground economic activity than have Western countries who have relied mainly on the sanction of criminal law. It concludes that both approaches are deficient in so far as they neglect the degree to which modern underground activity can no longer be seen as a manifestation of deviant economic behavior so much as a virtual economic insurgency against the status quo distribution of income and wealth and the codes of economic behavior which accompany it. However dramatic are the financial manifestations of the spread of enterprise crime, ultimately the challenge it poses must be addressed as the political and ideological level.     

试论组织、领导、参加黑社会性质组织罪的几个问题

文章就组织、领导参加黑社会性质组织罪客观方面特征进行了探讨 ,并就司法实践中经常出现的几个问题提出了自己的意见和看法。     

检验人精浆特异蛋白P30免疫胶体金试剂条的研制

目的制备用于检验人精浆特异蛋白P30-主要是来自法医学案件的免疫胶体金层析试剂条.方法选取针对不同抗原决定簇的抗P30单克隆抗体细胞株,并制备其小鼠腹水,分离纯化单克隆抗体.制备胶体金并以纯化抗体包被,制成免疫胶体金,以免疫胶体金浸泡玻璃纤维.选取适宜的硝酸纤维素膜并于其上不同位置以未金标的另一株P30单克隆抗体和羊抗鼠IgG包被.搭建试剂条并检测其灵敏度和特异性.结果所制成的试剂条灵敏度至少可达4ng/ml;对6人份混合的人精液物质在稀释20万倍后仍出阳性结果,且无非特异性反应.结论检验人精浆特异蛋白P30的免疫胶体金试剂条可对嫌疑人精物质做出排查,有利于法医物证检验.     

抗人SMCY抗原胶体金试纸条的研制

目的建立一种快速检测SMCY抗原的方法。方法采用胶体金免疫层析技术双抗体夹心检测法,在金标垫上包被胶体金标记的SMCY兔多抗,制成胶体金试纸条,用于检测12份猪、牛、狗、鸡和小鼠等动物血清以及50份人血清。结果制作的胶体金试纸条检测人和常见动物血清具有明显的种属特异性,能够区分男女血清。结论该方法可尝试用于鉴别男女血清,并具有一定种属特异性,其为法医学快速鉴别人类样本性别提供了研究方向。     

抗人血红蛋白胶体金检测试剂条的研制

目的制备法医学检验所用的确定人血的免疫胶体金层析试剂条。方法选取抗人血红蛋白单克隆细胞株,制备其小鼠腹水,从腹水中纯化出单克隆抗体。制备胶体金并用一纯化的单克隆抗体包被,制成免疫胶体金。取玻璃纤维以免疫胶体金浸泡,烘干。在一硝酸纤维素膜上两个不同位置分别点加另一抗人血红蛋白抗体和羊抗鼠IgG。搭建试剂条并检测其灵敏度和特异性。结果制成的免疫胶体金试剂条可对稀释至20万倍的人血红蛋白溶液显示阳性,对法医学检验常见8种动物的血溶液显示阴性。结论所制备抗人血红蛋白胶体金试剂条可以应用于法医学检验。     

Vacuum metal deposition: visualisation of gold agglomerates using TEM imaging

Vacuum metal deposition (VMD) is a well-established technique that can be used for the development of latent fingermarks on a range of polymer surfaces, including polyethylene (PE) bags exposed to harsh environmental conditions. The technique has also proved to be effective on difficult semi-porous surfaces such as the polymer banknotes in circulation in Australia and in an increasing number of other countries. VMD is a two-stage technique. In the first stage, a small amount of gold is deposited under high vacuum onto the exhibit. This is then followed by the deposition, onto the gold layer, of a much thicker layer of zinc. Normal VMD development is characterised by zinc depositing all over the surface except on the fingermark ridges themselves. A phenomenon of reverse development (zinc on the ridges but not on the surface) has been reported by many authors. Recent studies indicated that this phenomenon might occur on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) when the amount of deposited gold is above an optimum quantity. The results suggested that the size of the gold agglomerates formed on the surface of the polymer plays a critical role. This preliminary study was aimed at visualising, by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the formation of gold agglomerates on polymer surfaces to gain an appreciation of how the density and size of these agglomerates changes with an increasing amount of evaporated gold.     

胶体金标记检测大麻单克隆抗体免疫试剂盒研制

目的 建立准确、快速、简便的检测尿液中大麻的胶体金免疫层析技术(ICT)。方法 采用柠檬酸三钠还原法制备胶体金颗粒,标记抗主要代谢物四氢大麻酚-9-羧酸,THC与GC/MS检测方法相比,用ICT法的216份尿样,其检测限为50 ng/ml,灵敏度为96.67％,准确性为98.61％。结论 ICT法检测尿液中THC,其特异性强,对确定大麻的存在具有广泛的应用价值。     

Use of gold nanoparticles as molecular intermediates for the detection of fingermarks

Among the numerous methods dedicated to the detection of latent fingermarks, the MultiMetal Deposition (MMD) offers, as a main advantage, the ability to be applied on a great number of porous and non-porous surfaces, e.g., paper, plastic, glass, latex, and polystyrene, even if wetted. While considered as a powerful and sensitive technique, MMD is often neglected, mainly because of operational limitations (siliconized vessels, restrictive pH domain, numerous immersion baths, ...). In this contribution, we propose a modification of the standard MMD method so that the procedure is simplified with a number of baths reduced to a minimum. To reach this goal, it was necessary to obtain a fully operable solution which could detect fingermarks in a single step. We chose to take advantage of the molecular recognition mechanisms by functionalizing the gold nanoparticles with a molecular host able to bind itself to gold while keeping the ability to trap molecules in solution. Cyclodextrins were chosen as they can be easily chemically modified to offer gold-binding abilities. Moreover, they are widely used as hosts for various molecular guests (dyes, luminescent molecules, ...). This new formulation has been tested on three different surfaces to attest the feasibility of this strategy. Successful results were obtained with detailed fingermarks offering a good contrast to allow their identification without the need to enhance the results (such as with a physical developer). If the new formulation behaves very similarly to the old one, in terms of experimental conditions, it offers the additional advantage to develop fingermarks after immersing them in only one bath. The goal is thus reached.     

Detection of fingermarks by colloidal gold (MMD/SMD)--beyond the pH 3 limit

Dust was investigated for its ability to retain source attribution profiles (SAPs) after chemical exposure. Three distinct sources of the organophosphate pesticide acephate were investigated as a proof-of-concept model. In addition, attribution profiles were created and tested using compounds related to chemical warfare agents (CWAs), specifically VX and G-series agents: O-ethyl methylphosphonothioate (EMPTA), N,N-diisopropylmethylamine (DIPMA), N,N-diisopropylethylamine (DIEA), diisopropylamine (DIPA), diethyl aniline (DEA), diethyl ethyl phosphonate (DEEP), trimethyl phosphite (TMP), dimethyl hydrogen phosphite (DMHP), diethyl hydrogen phosphite (DEHP), triethyl phosphate (TEP), ethyl methylphosphonate (EMPA), and diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP). Dust was collected from a storage shed, aliquots deposited on carpet and loaded with distinct chemical profiles using an exposure chamber and aerosolizer. After a given period of time (1h, 24h, or 72 h), the dust was extracted and its SAP analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and/or liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to determine the association of dust exposed to the same and different chemical sources. PCA results demonstrate that dust samples exposed to distinct chemical sources are clearly differentiated from one another across all collection times. Furthermore, dust aliquots exposed to the same source can be clearly associated with one another across all collection times. When the CWA-related compounds were subjected to elevated temperature (90°C) conditions, it was found that the signature was stable at the 1h and 24h collections. At 72 h and elevated temperature, larger deviations from the control were observed for some compounds. Elevated pH (10) affected the profile to a lesser degree than elevated temperature. Overall, dust is found to be an effective media for the in situ collection of source attribution profiles.     

氯胺酮、甲基苯丙胺和吗啡金标单抗试剂盒的研制

目的建立同步检测氯胺酮、甲基苯丙胺和吗啡的方法。方法将胶体金标记的抗氯胺酮、抗甲基苯丙胺和抗吗啡单克隆抗体浸涂在玻璃纤维膜上，将氯胺酮、甲基苯丙胺和吗啡的完全抗原以及羊抗鼠多克隆抗体喷涂在硝酸纤维素膜上，分别标定为检测区（T）和质控区（C）。样本中游离的氯胺酮、甲基苯丙胺和吗啡分别与包被的完全抗原免疫竞争结合胶体金标记抗氯胺酮、抗甲基苯丙胺和抗吗啡单克隆抗体。以质控区和检测区是否出现紫红色条带判读结果。结果对66种药品和毒品的特异性测试表明，该试剂盒仅识别氯胺酮及其代谢物、甲基苯丙胺及其衍生物和吗啡类；对人体尿样中的氯胺酮、甲基苯丙胺和吗啡检测阈值分别为1000ng／ml、1000ng／ml和300ng／ml；与GC／MS对照试验结果一致；试剂盒稳定性较好，在常温下可较长时间保存。结论本文研制的试剂盒可用于样本中氯胺酮、甲基苯丙胺和吗啡成分定性的同步检测。     

检测丁丙诺啡的胶体金标记单克隆抗体免疫试剂盒研制

目的采用免疫竞争法原理,建立一种简便快速检测丁丙诺啡的方法。方法将20nm胶体金颗粒标记的抗丁丙诺啡单克隆抗体,均匀浸在吸水玻璃纤维上,将丁丙诺啡-BSA和纯化后的羊抗鼠IgG多克隆抗体在硝酸纤维薄膜分别划1mm宽的检测线(T线)和质控线(C线),制成丁丙诺啡胶体金标记单克隆抗体免疫层析检测条,并组装成检测板。结果以GC/MS为标准对照,100例样品检测结果显示,本检测板的准确率为99.0%。丁丙诺啡胶体金标记单克隆抗体免疫层析检测板在对45种药(毒)物的测试中,仅识别丁丙诺啡及其主要代谢产物。结论丁丙诺啡胶体金标记单克隆抗体免疫层析检测板在5min内可检出样品中的丁丙诺啡及其代谢物,检测丁丙诺啡的阈值为100ng/mL。     

Vacuum metal deposition: developing latent fingerprints on polyethylene substrates after the deposition of excess gold.

A previously identified difficulty with the development of latent fingerprints on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) by vacuum metal deposition (VMD) is that excess gold deposition prevents effective zinc deposition and so inhibits latent print development [1]. The investigation of a means to correct for excess gold deposition was the basis for this study. Exposure to zinc and the readmission of air into the vacuum chamber followed by VMD development results in the deactivation of the initial gold clusters due to the formation of zinc oxide and the adsorption of air and water molecules. As a result, the majority of the gold deposited during the second treatment creates new gold clusters rather than adding to the gold clusters previously formed. After excess gold deposition on LDPE, the deposition of 1.5 times the optimum gold amount will result in good-quality normal development. The results also indicate that, on all surfaces, at least twice the initial gold count should be used for re-treatment when further development is required after air has been readmitted to the chamber.