If you think of it as activities that we associate with organized crime in the US and Europe, the entire Middle East (and a good part of the "Third World") is a hotbed for extortion, murder for hire, illegal gambling, drugs, booze, etc. Except that they call them "militias," or "fundamentalist groups," etc. Newspapers had a story recently on how the Taliban have taken over a good-sized city in Pakistan and are shaking down the residents--sound familiar? And what about the pirates in Darfur?

Moral of story: where there's no law and order--and a lot of money to be made--you'll find organized crime.