International Journal on Criminology
medium , their performance , and their prices . They order them from the “ nomads ” they know , often for themselves , but also for acquaintances in other districts or cities .
From the “ big ghetto ” to the small neighborhood , from the roads of the Trabendo or the Sultans , to the small towns in the suburban crowns , a network is thus created where , by capillarity , all contraband goods , counterfeit goods , etc ., circulate .
A Massive but Invisible Transcontinental Traffic
These tens of thousands of nomads of the transcontinental illicit trade are
almost invisible , as they are drowned in the flows of millions of tourists ( on their journeys ) and in the immigrant population ( in Europe ). From West Asia to the confines of Central Africa and passing through the Maghreb ; from the Caucasus to Andalusia , these flows , networks , and individuals , these goods and masses of grey or black money , thus form the dark , submerged face of international trade .
Does the state emerge unscathed from this massive and permanent invisible trade ? No . Since these operations are all carried out outside of commercial or fiscal regulations , it loses taxes and customs , and its officials , customs officers , police , and consular agents are subjected to strong pressure — corruption , but sometimes also intimidation .
Let ’ s insist that what is transported along these roads is as much part of the “ grey economy ,” informal , as it is part of the black economy , which is downright criminal .
“ Globalization From Below ”: How Does It Work ?
The entities we describe below are very different from the “ classic ” mafias ,
gangs , and criminal networks ; the latter are active , sometimes secularly for mafias , in racketeering , trafficking in human beings , drugs , and weapons
( sometimes with cultural restrictions , as in southern Italy ).
However , the rather unknown “ transmigrants ” described below , although originally non-criminals , cohabit and ultimately cooperate with these “ habitual criminals ” in the global areas , spaces , and routes of illicit activity . This , according to the rules and norms of cross-border mobility , and of the underground or invisible economy , is known and accepted by all . The whole creates transcontinental and continuous chains of “ grey ” or “ black ” business , finally giving rise to the “ discreet globalization ” defined and depicted above .
We will speak here of transmigrants , those nomadic entrepreneurs who are invisible because they are most often lost in tourist or migratory flows ; entrepre-
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