JSI-424
The JSI-424, also known as the Dials, Phonenumbers or Phonies, is a Karazawi organized crime syndicate based on the West Coast of the country. It was formed in 1988 by ex-members of the Lazarene Clique lead by Olla Tsitsik. Today, the Cartel deals in methamphetamine production, arm trafficking, counterfeiting, illegal gambling, Procuring and is famous for their ellaborate crypted communications.
Name
The cartel call itself the Jembache Sindarime Iurhiri 424 which in Karazawi means Blood Tied Brothers 424. Generally, each subset of the Cartel has an additional number as a prefixe (ex : 001-JSI-424). The "JSI" is then often coded as "574", referring to the position of each letters on a phone keypad, transforming the name of the subset into a proper Karazawi phone number (ex : "001th's leaders" becomes "01001574424"). This habit explain why they've been nicknamed Dials, Phonenumbers, or Phonies by rival gangs.
The exact reason why the last number is "424" is unknown and many rumours exist about it, ranging from it being the address of where the first members gathered for the first time, a reference to the date of the Cartel's creation, or that it is a reference to Saturnist occultism
Background
Leadership
The JSI don't have a central structure and hierarchy. Instead, they are divided in numerous subsets, each linked to one another in a loose network of alliances and common interests. Some subsets are more important than others, and often have direct control over the others. The two most important subsets are the 101th and the 108th. The first have control over Zacapatu and Kericaueri, while the seconds operate mostly in the highlands and the port of Kutsaro.
The 101th are known for their business-minded attitude, discretion, and ellusive nature which doesn't stop them from being extremely cruel when opposed or just displeased. Their main source of revenues are white-collar crimes, illegal gambling, Loan shark,prostitution, and drug trafficking. They are the oldest subset of JSI-424, having been founded directly by Olla Tsitsik and was built on top of the assets of the defunct Lazarene Clique on the West Coast and for a while, it was the only subset of the Cartel. It's only when Tsitsik and one of his lieutenant, Jakku Puntani, disagreed over which direction the cartel should take that the latter left and created the second subset : the 108-JSI-424.
The 108th are famed for their religious fervor, inherited from their founder, Jakku Puntani, who organized the 108th as a quasi religious sect. It is much more violent than its sister subset of the 101th, but it's much better implanted in the countryside and especially in the highlands, where it enjoys a great ammount of local support in some communities and has been rumoured to control electoral results. Members are said to swore during their initiaion an oath to "Protect the Innocent and the Orphan, Fight for the poors and helpless, Respect women and children, Never kill for money nor use drugs." The 108th's symbol is the Sator Square and is often use as a grafiti to mark their territory.
Entering the cartel is a long and ritualized process. Potential recruits are generally found in the ranks of unaffiliated street gangsters and youth delinquents ("44s" and "22s" respectively, in the Cartel's code). Most of the recruits then serve as either Kuinicha / 87) who are low ranking sentinels and spies for the Cartel, or if they have valuable talents for the Organization, as Associates (Sindachecha / 50). It's very rare to become a full-member when you are an Associate, but some Associates can play roles in the highest levels of the Cartels, as advisors or chemists.
It's only after an important initiatic ritual known as the "555" or "3-5" of which little is known that one can become a full-fledged Member, an "05". 05s generally operates in groups of twenty to fifty people, under the leadership of an "04" or Captains. A Scythe, "03" or "333" is then placed in charge of a number of Captains. Small subsets generally don't have a rank above Scythe, but larger sets like the 101th, 108th or 204th, have many Scythes with eight to ten captains under them. The 108th for example, are rumoured to have a council of fifteen Scythes, while the 101th may have close to seventy Scythes.
In these large sets, the leader is a "Kuraka", codename "01". The codename of "02" is reserved to an high-ranking member that can be the trustworthy confident, the liaison officer, personal enforcer of the 01, or even an underboss. The 01 receives a cut of every operation taken on by every member of his Set. A 01 designated successor is generally known as an "X1", and is generally either an already proeminent Scythe or is a family member of the 01, generally a son or a nephew, which is then tie to the day-to-day responsibilities of the 01, to prepare him for his future position. Elections may happen if the 01 is captured or killed before he could choose a successor.
Operations
The modus operanti of each subset varies, but it generally follows similar patterns. They are generally based around clubs, bars, brothels, casinos, which serve as legal front for the cartel's activities. Some subsets will then specialize as the "bankers" of the organization : giving small loans to gamblers or even other criminals while operating illegal casino and gambling parlors. Other are "cookers", owning laboratories or farms that produce the metamphetamines, heroin, and cannabis that will later be sold to other sets or directly exported if its big enough. The 108th are notably suspected of possessing "superlabs", capable of producing 50 to 70kg of meth in eight hours. Few subsets operate at the street levels, prefering leaving these to local streetgangs ("44") or young delinquents ("22") which are both clients and pools of potential recruits.
Outside of Karazawa
Ainin
Maradu
In January 2007, a cocaine trafficking network that operated in Karazawa, Maradu and Milenka was dismantled. Smugglers are suspected to have been JSI-424 associates. They mainly imported opium to be transformed in Karazawi laboratories into morphine and heroine. Despite this, it is suspected that JSI-424 operations in Maradu have only grown since 2007, with internationale observers denouncing a possible collusion between the Provisional Military Administration and the cartel. Apparently the cartel would import mostly unlicensed tobacco and illegal opium from the country, while exporting morphine, heroine, cocaine, weapons, and maybe even having a role in human trafficking.
Milenka
According to a study by the Milenkan foreign intelligence service, JSI-424 groups are using Milenka to invest cash from drugs and weapons smuggling. Profits are invested in hotels, restaurants and houses. Investigators believe that the Cartel's bases in Milenka are used primarily for clandestine financial transactions. Some 800 people were involved in criminal activity, and were also legal owners of hundreds of restaurants, as well as being major players in the property market. The JSI have notably an important base among the Karazawi communities in the countries. Since the great crackdown of the nineties, JSI-424 sets and sub-sets have entirely replaced "homegrown" gangs and syndicates in these communities.