We challenge the assumption that criminal involvement of specific ethnic minorities is the result of poverty and poor integration and question whether this involvement is the source of local conflicts. Criminal activities can be interpreted as an expression of resistance against dominant society and as attractive means to acquire a certain (luxurious) lifestyle. Research in two neighbourhoods on interactions between criminal networks, local ethnic groups and global linkages will provide an-swers as to whether and how criminal involvement of immigrants leads to conflicts within their group, influences the group?s integration into Dutch society and fuels conflicts in the broader com-munity.