Also in 2004, the ringleader of the Madrid bombings, Jamael “El Chino” Ahmidan, turned out to be the brother of one of Morocco’s top hashish traffickers. The cell operatives used 30 kilograms of hashish to buy the explosives used in the simultaneous subway attacks. During the ensuing investigation, authorities recovered nearly $2 million in drugs and cash.

Counterfeit consumer items, tobacco smuggling and the more sinister trade in narcotics are all sources of income for foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs).

Terrorism takes cash, and even if the cost-benefit balance leans in favor of the terrorists—a handful of cheap explosives can cause millions in damages—investment is still required, and quite a bit of it. Sustainability is crucial to jihadists because they don’t perceive their jihad as a short-term conflict; rather, they see this as a long-term fight.

Business-minded jihad

The connection between many FTOs and either transnational organized

crime groups (TOCGs) or global drug trafficking organizations has increased over time, and FTOs themselves have become more involved in criminal and trafficking activities.

Currently, the relationship consists largely of TOCGs providing terrorists with logistical support. However, both sides have a common financial interest, as though two corporations were merging. Though they may have nothing in common ideologically, they enjoy financial and logistical benefits. For Al Qaeda in particular, which used to rely on money transfers and deposits to move money, the global crackdown on financial pipelines means that it must turn to commerce to raise the capital it needs.

“Terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and Hezbollah are becoming hybrids: one part terrorist group, one part drug trafficking. It’s all about the money,” Michael Braun, assistant administrator and chief of operations at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), told HSToday. “It’s meaner and uglier than anything law enforcement has ever encountered. Many policymakers don’t get it. They simply don’t comprehend the threat because more and more hybrids will be created in the future.”  This can be seen through certain policies in recent years, although the connection between FTOs and TOCGs has become painfully clearer. 

Many operational protocols of both FTOs and TOCGs are similar in nature. For instance, TOCGs generally operate as networks and establish various cells throughout the world in order to expand, recruit and “conduct business.” This organizational structure provides flexibility and efficiency. 

“These groups, both terrorist groups and global drug trafficking organizations, operate in highly compartmentalized cells, where their handlers only know the operatives’ first names, and each cell knows either very little or nothing at all of other cells’ operations,” said Braun. “This limits the amount of intelligence you can gather from these individuals by limiting the amount of information they know about the buyer/customer if they’re apprehended by law enforcement authorities.”  

Both groups also operate in a clandestine environment and both are acutely conscious of the need for operational security. Operatives immediately go underground if they suspect they’re being observed and ditch loads, postpone deals or cancel meetings if threatened.       

Islamic fundamentalists are frequently and simply labeled “radicals” for their religion by many in the West and particularly in the United States. The general public and even many in the highest levels of government find difficulty in agreeing with or accepting these fundamentalists’ rationales. These Islamists take part in such criminal activities as using drugs, committing robberies or drinking alcohol.  How is this justifiable in their eyes? 

Islamist FTOs bring with them a special twist: the concept of “taqiyya,” which literally means “dissimulation”—or concealing or disguising one’s beliefs or convictions at a time of imminent danger and to deter law enforcement attention. An otherwise obscure religious concept, it is sometimes discussed in jihadist circles as an operational necessity.

Taqiyya allows jihadists to justify their collaboration with “infidel groups” or gangs—and to justify behavior that Islam otherwise prohibits like drinking alcohol, taking drugs, cavorting with women or otherwise engaging in corrupt behavior. The general mindset of most jihadists is simply that God judges what’s in their hearts, and as long as they remain faithful to the mission, they are legitimate in their actions, theologically speaking.

Both terrorist organizations and transnational drug trafficking organizations rely heavily on the latest technology, including cell phones, both open and encrypted, satellite phones with similar technologies and global positioning system (GPS) devices. All are used by these organizations, Braun explained. This technology is a double-edged sword for these groups. It gives FTOs great capabilities to exploit—as well as valuable opportunities for law enforcement and specialized counterterrorist units to trace and locate them in return.