Bureau of Prohibition

E142265

United States federal law enforcement agency defunct government agency

The Bureau of Prohibition was a U.S. federal law enforcement agency responsible for enforcing national alcohol prohibition in the early 20th century.

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All labels observed (6)

Label	Occurrences
Bureau of Prohibition canonical	5
Bureau of Internal Revenue Prohibition Unit	1
Bureau of Prohibition agents	1
Prohibition Bureau	1
U.S. Bureau of Prohibition	1
U.S. Prohibition Unit	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1240194 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Bureau of Prohibition
Context triple: [Prohibition era in the United States, governmentAgencyInvolved, Bureau of Prohibition]

A. Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs
The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs was a former U.S. federal agency responsible for enforcing drug control laws before its functions were absorbed into the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
B. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is a U.S. federal law enforcement agency responsible for enforcing federal firearms and explosives laws and regulating aspects of the alcohol and tobacco industries.
C. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is a U.S. federal agency responsible for regulating and taxing the alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and ammunition industries to ensure compliance with federal laws and generate revenue.
D. Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a United States federal law enforcement agency responsible for combating drug trafficking and distribution and enforcing the nation’s controlled substances laws.
E. United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a federal law enforcement agency best known for protecting the U.S. president and other national leaders, as well as investigating financial and cyber crimes.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Bureau of Prohibition
Target entity description: The Bureau of Prohibition was a U.S. federal law enforcement agency responsible for enforcing national alcohol prohibition in the early 20th century.

A. Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs
The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs was a former U.S. federal agency responsible for enforcing drug control laws before its functions were absorbed into the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
B. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is a U.S. federal law enforcement agency responsible for enforcing federal firearms and explosives laws and regulating aspects of the alcohol and tobacco industries.
C. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is a U.S. federal agency responsible for regulating and taxing the alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and ammunition industries to ensure compliance with federal laws and generate revenue.
D. Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a United States federal law enforcement agency responsible for combating drug trafficking and distribution and enforcing the nation’s controlled substances laws.
E. United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a federal law enforcement agency best known for protecting the U.S. president and other national leaders, as well as investigating financial and cyber crimes.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	United States federal law enforcement agency ⓘ defunct government agency ⓘ
abolishedBy	Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ linked to: Twenty-First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
appliesToJurisdiction	United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
country	United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
dissolved	1933 ⓘ 1934 ⓘ
employer	Eliot Ness ⓘ Isadore "Izzy" Einstein ⓘ Moe Smith ⓘ Prohibition agents ⓘ
fieldOfWork	alcohol regulation ⓘ organized crime enforcement ⓘ prohibition enforcement ⓘ
hasCause	Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ National Prohibition Act ⓘ
hasPart	Prohibition agents ⓘ field offices ⓘ
hasTask	arrest of bootleggers ⓘ enforcement of national alcohol prohibition ⓘ investigation of bootlegging ⓘ raids on speakeasies ⓘ seizure of illegal liquor ⓘ suppression of illegal alcohol distribution ⓘ suppression of illegal alcohol production ⓘ
headquartersLocation	Washington, D.C. ⓘ
inception	1920 ⓘ
industry	law enforcement ⓘ
legalBasis	Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ National Prohibition Act ⓘ Volstead Act ⓘ linked to: National Prohibition Act
locatedInTheAdministrativeTerritorialEntity	District of Columbia ⓘ
nickname	Dry agents ⓘ Prohibition Bureau ⓘ linked to: Bureau of Prohibition
notableWork	enforcement actions against illegal alcohol trade ⓘ
operatingPeriod	Prohibition era ⓘ linked to: Prohibition era in the United States
parentOrganization	U.S. Department of Justice ⓘ linked to: United States Department of Justice U.S. Department of the Treasury ⓘ linked to: United States Department of the Treasury
partOf	U.S. Justice Department ⓘ linked to: United States Department of Justice U.S. Treasury Department ⓘ linked to: United States Department of the Treasury
predecessor	Bureau of Internal Revenue Prohibition Unit ⓘ linked to: Bureau of Prohibition
reasonForAbolition	ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment ⓘ repeal of Prohibition ⓘ
significantEvent	campaigns against organized crime bootlegging operations ⓘ enforcement of Prohibition in Chicago ⓘ
successor	Alcohol Tax Unit ⓘ linked to: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau Bureau of Narcotics ⓘ linked to: Federal Bureau of Narcotics Federal Bureau of Investigation ⓘ
timePeriod	early 20th century ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (10)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Prohibition era in the United States → governmentAgencyInvolved → Bureau of Prohibition ⓘ

National Prohibition Act → enforcedBy → Bureau of Prohibition ⓘ

National Prohibition Act → createdAgency → Bureau of Prohibition ⓘ

Bureau of Prohibition → predecessor → Bureau of Internal Revenue Prohibition Unit ⓘ