While the Star Wars franchise’s main conflicts are primarily fought between the forces of democracy and the scourge of authoritarian regimes, powerful criminal organizations wreak havoc from behind the scenes. The Jedi and Sith may receive the most focus in the Star Wars canon and Legends timelines, but syndicates like Jabba the Hutt’s criminal empire and Maul’s Crimson Dawn are often a chaotic and greedy third party, working with or against whoever they must to make a profit. The underworld of the Star Wars franchise includes many crime syndicates with several exceptionally dangerous and influential groups.
The Star Wars galaxy is vast, and even massive institutions like the Galactic Republic and the Galactic Empire cannot govern every world. The lawlessness of the Outer Rim Territories in particular allows for criminal organizations to rise to power and spread their corrupt influence to even the Core Worlds. As shown in the Star Wars films themselves, from Return of the Jedi to Solo: A Star Wars Story, the various crime syndicates of both canon and Legends are prominent enough to directly impact the events of the Skywalker saga itself. Here are 12 the most dangerous crime syndicates in the Star Wars franchise’s continuities.
12 Crymorah Syndicate
The current canon’s Crymorah Syndicate is notable not only for its vast influence, but also its lack of direct appearances in any Star Wars projects thus far. The Crymorah Syndicate is first mentioned in James Luceno’s 2014 novel Tarkin, in which they assist the Empire in tracking down a Rebel cell. The Crymorah Syndicate is also notable for its alliances with the Hutt Clan and the Droid Gotra and being dangerous enough to be counted among Five Crime Syndicates, placing it alongside the galaxy’s most powerful criminal organizations. It may only be a matter of time before the Crymorah Syndicate is shown, rather than referenced.
11 Pyke Syndicate
Another member of the Five Crime Syndicates, the spice-trafficking Pyke Syndicate is closely tied to major galactic events in the current canon. Darth Tyranus (Count Dooku) hired the Pykes to assassinate Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, preserving the secrecy of the Sith Order’s clone army conspiracy. The Pykes also ed Darth Maul’s Shadow Collective, proving to be invaluable to the former Sith Lord’s plot to take over Mandalore. The Pyke Syndicate's spice mines on Kessel played a large role in Solo, with Han stealing their coaxium fuel. The Pykes further proved their dangerous resourcefulness in The Book of Boba Fett, unleashing Scorpenek Annihilator Droids in Mos Espa.
10 Shadow Collective
The short-lived Shadow Collective debuts in Star Wars: The Clone Wars as both an alliance of powerful criminal organizations and an unofficial Sith Order to challenge that of Darth Sidious. Led by the former Sith Lord Maul, the Shadow Collective consists of the Death Watch, the Pyke Syndicate, Black Sun, Crimson Dawn, and the Hutt Clan (for a time). The Shadow Collective is not only dangerous enough to take over Mandalore, but also attracts the attention of Palpatine himself, as well as the factions under his control. Following Maul’s capture at the Siege of Mandalore, the Shadow Collective dissolved, but this was hardly the end of Maul’s criminal career.
9 Crimson Dawn
Initially a member of the Shadow Collective, Crimson Dawn is functionally its successor organization, with syndicates like the Pykes and Black Sun going their separate ways, yet maintaining alliances with them. Crimson Dawn’s first leader is Maul, who controls the organization through puppets like Dryden Vos and Qi’ra, as seen in Solo. By the events of Star Wars Rebels, however, Qi’ra had supplanted Maul as the syndicate’s leader. Under Qi’ra’s leadership, Crimson Dawn is a great enough force to threaten the Galactic Empire and the Sith Order, though its conflict with Vader and Sidious ends in its destruction before the events of Return of the Jedi.
8 The Exchange
In the Star Wars Legends continuity’s Old Republic Era, no criminal organization can compare to The Exchange. Debuting in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, The Exchange’s influence could be felt throughout the galaxy, with each world having its own local Exchange underboss, such as the droid Goto on Nar Shaddaa. The Exchange is powerful enough to stand up against the Hutt Cartel, as shown in Star Wars: The Old Republic, though it is unknown how precisely The Exchange would dissolve since it no longer exists by the events of the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
7 Smugglers’ Alliance
By far the most benevolent of the Star Wars franchise’s criminal organizations is the Legends continuity’s Smugglers’ Alliance. Founded and led by Talon Karrde, the Smugglers’ Alliance formed after the events of A New Hope, but became one of the galactic underworld’s most powerful groups following the death of Jabba the Hutt. According to Timothy Zahn, Karrde represents what Han Solo might have become had he never ed the Rebellion, and the Smugglers’ Alliance is the opposite of Jabba’s criminal empire, gaining followers through loyalty and relative honor. The Smugglers’ Alliance is a frequent ally of the New Republic, assisting them in their conflicts with Thrawn and the Yuuzhan Vong.
6 The Hutt Cartel
Various Hutt crime families collectively comprise the Hutt Cartel, which is one of the galaxy’s most dangerous criminal organizations. The Hutt Cartel’s history is explored in Legends, revealing that it is the successor to the Hutt Empire, which controlled a sizable sector of the galaxy known as Hutt Space (which remains part of the Hutt Cartel). The Hutt crime families remain a force to be reckoned with in the galaxy, controlling illicit activities throughout the Outer Rim and even possessing their own superweapon, the Darksaber battle station, in 12 ABY. In the canon timeline, the Republic and Separatists both fought for the Hutt Cartel’s favor early on in the Clone Wars.
5 Reelo Baruk’s Crime Syndicate
The Rodian crime boss Reelo Baruk has only a small planetary crime group on Nar Shaddaa, but it is nevertheless an extremely dangerous organization. Baruk’s operation is powerful enough to dissuade the Hutt Cartel from opposing him and subtle enough to escape the New Republic’s notice. The Imperial Remnant also took notice of Baruk’s organization, leading to an alliance between the two and a combined attack on Cloud City that even Lando Calrissian had difficulty suppressing at first. As shown in Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Reelo Baruk and his organization meet their end when Calrissian and Kyle Katarn defeat them on Nar Shaddaa and Bespin.
4 Bando Gora
The Bando Gora is both a cult and a crime syndicate, with a strong influence on the death stick trade. The Bando Gora grew in power in the aftermath of the Invasion of Naboo, even threatening Palpatine’s master plans. On Palpatine’s orders, Count Dooku hired bounty hunters to wipe out the Bando Gora and their leader, Komari Vosa, who was one of Count Dooku’s Padawans before her fall to the dark side. With its galaxy-wide influence and army of lethal assassins, the Bando Gora became one of the most feared names in the galactic underworld, but Jango Fett ultimately destroyed their operations, leading directly to his recruitment by Dooku.
3 Black Sun
In of sheer size, Black Sun is the greatest of all the Star Wars franchise’s criminal organizations. In the Legends continuity, Black Sun has a presence on every planet in the galaxy, overseeing every form of illegal activity, even on Coruscant during Emperor Palpatine’s reign. Palpatine himself had Darth Maul tasked with weakening Black Sun before the events of the prequel trilogy, resulting in the deaths of their then-leader Alexi Garyn and his bodyguard, the Dathomir Witch Mighella. In their Shadows of the Empire debut, Black Sun formed a fragile alliance with the Empire, despite their leader Prince Xizor attempting to undermine Darth Vader.
In the canon continuity, Black Sun is not quite as vast or powerful, but it is known as one of the galaxy’s deadliest crime syndicates. Black Sun is a former member of the Shadow Collective, playing an invaluable role in the destabilization of Mandalore. The Black Sun is also one of the Five Crime Syndicates, putting it on the same level as groups like Crimson Dawn and the Pykes.
