Misha Glenny charts the explosion of international crime since the fall of the Soviet bloc, and explains how and why international mafias now pose an unprecedented threat to stability and the rule of law.
In Part Three, he goes to South Africa where Since the end of Apartheid, personal security has become almost a national obsession; the number of private security firms has mushroomed.
But, as he discovers, the uncertainty surrounding the transition from the apartheid regime to multi-party democracy proved fertile ground for international criminal gangs.
The country became a hub for the trafficking of drugs, weapons, cars, minerals and women.
It is a problem the government has been reluctant to tackle but one that is proving to be one of the biggest challenges facing the country.
First broadcast on May 12 2008
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