This only works because the "gangs" are actually all members of the same tribe (Majeerteen.) If anyone else wanted to join in with capital, they wouldn't see a

This only works because the "gangs" are actually all members of the same tribe (Majeerteen.) If anyone else wanted to join in with capital, they wouldn't see a dime back. Majeerteens are such pain the ass, they have civil war conflicts open in three fronts; they're fighting in the south for pan-Somali presidency seat while still maintaining their own sovereign entity in the North East as "Puntland". They're fighting the unrecognized Somaliland for territory. They're being paid by the U.S. to catch al-Qaeda and fight Islamists. And still, they're maintaining a successful business in piracy and smuggling, not to mention their own exports in livestock. Only reason they haven't been cracked down on harder by the U.S. is that they're bonafide mercenaries and bounty hunters, chasing Islamist groups everywhere in Somalia. (they never were fighters, btw; Somali lore is full of anti-Majeerteen poetry, calling them sissies. Every time the Somali tribes raided Ethiopia the Majeerteen were the first to roll and return the loot. They're making up for lost thievery.)