FBI New Orleans Division
The FBI in New Orleans has two primary areas of responsibility concerning Organized Crime/Drug (OC/D) investigations. One is to target traditional OC groups, such as the La Cosa Nostra (LCN), and other organized criminal groups that represent a significant threat to the community. The second is to attempt to identify and dismantle the most significant drug distribution enterprises operating in Louisiana. To accomplish these goals, the FBI utilizes investigative techniques that can best identify as many members of the enterprise as possible and dismantle the targeted organization. In order to make the greatest impact in this area, the FBI will often work jointly with other law enforcement agencies, including federal, state, and local organizations. This allows the pooling of resources and intelligence from several different areas, allowing for the best use of limited personnel resources and the reduction of overlapping investigations being worked by different agencies. The FBI OC/D program also employs a regional approach to its investigations by regularly interacting with other FBI field offices in this area, such as our offices in Houston, Texas; Jackson, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama.
Louisiana, with its major port cities and extended coastline, has been a prime locality for the importation of illegal drugs, mostly from South and Central America. With its highway system, Louisiana has also been a significant transshipment point, linking drug importers and distributors on the east and west coasts. Louisiana’s highway systems are also a major link to drug distribution centers in the major cities of the central United States. The FBI uses its investigative resources to target primarily, the major importers of illegal drugs and the distribution networks they support in Louisiana. Secondly, the FBI will target major drug distribution organizations operating in Louisiana, groups that are receiving their drugs from importers and distributors centered in cities such as Miami, Florida; Houston, Texas; and Los Angeles, California.
Organized Crime investigations can become involved in a wide range of criminal activity, but the most significant cases target bookmaking operations, illegal gambling businesses, extortion, money laundering, drug trafficking by OC groups, and the infiltration of organized crime groups into legitimate businesses. The OC/D program also attempts to target the entire criminal enterprise involved in illegal activities in order to eliminate as many members of the illegal organization as possible. In these cases, the FBI will also use criminal and civil forfeiture laws to seize the money and assets of the illegal groups and their members. These laws allow the government to take away the illegal profits obtained from criminal activities.
Contact 504-816-3000 or by fax 504-816-3306 with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: June 6, 2005