Queenpins: an exploratory study of female participation in high-level drug distribution networks

Despite increasing recognition within mainstream media, criminology is yet to offer a substantive analysis of femaleparticipation within the upper echelons of organised crime. As such, this exploratory paper aims to offer an insight into the key themes identifiable within the context of high level, female, drug suppliers. Identifying thirty-six case studies, this exploratory paper combines descriptive statistics and a Fisher’s Exact test with Cramer’s V to demonstrate the prevalence and overall trends. Overall, the study demonstrated that women, dubbed Queenpins, are most likely to participate at high levels within Latin American cartels and the Camorra. Unlike their counterparts operating within the lower rungs of drug markets, these women are able to invert the highly patriarchal narcocultures they exist within. They operated in a narco-feminist role that supported the men in their lives and offered aroute to resist their machismo-oriented habitus.