The mafia war enforced a hiatus in trade until 1968. Then, at the beginning of the 1970s, the customs police detected a sharp increase in heroin-related activity. Arlacchi (1983a) suggests that the mafiosi had previously been unable to compete with wealthier groups because of financial constraints but provides no evidence. In fact, money was never in short supply. According to Contorno, most of it came from the United States anyway, and from investors outside the organization (TC: 159; also TC-GdS, April 21-23, 1986). An alternative explanation is simply that the demand for heroin in both American and European markets grew during that period to unprecedented levels, and thus more mafiosi felt encouraged to invest, and to invest more.

XREF: Echoes the general principle that demand-pull explains organized crime expansion better than organizational capability narratives.

Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Busi…, loc. 638