Karim Lala and his family members' groups operated in the Bombay docks. They were often called "Afghan mafia" or "Pathan mafia", terms coined by Bombay law enforcement because the majority of this crime syndicate's members were ethnic Pashtuns from Afghanistan's Kunar province. They were especially involved in hashish trafficking, protection rackets, extortion, illegal gambling, gold smuggling, and contract killings, and held a firm stranglehold over parts of Mumbai's underworld. Lala controlled bootlegging and gambling in the city in 1940, and was the undisputed king of the trade until 1985.