 At the same time, a few young people, without much social status, saw opportunity in the economic and legal confusion of the transition.Between 1987 and 1992, trading of natural resources and foreign currencies, as well as imports of highly demanded consumer goods and then domestic production of their rudimentary substitutes, rapidly enabled these pioneering entrepreneurs to accumulate considerable wealth.In turn, the emerging cash-based, highly opaque markets provided a breeding ground for a large number of racket gangs.