A criminal organization, connected to the Hutt Cartel, was managed by the crime boss Jabba Desilijic Tiure. This organization was primarily located on the desert world of Tatooine. From his palace on Tatooine, Jabba initiated his illegal activities long before the start of the Clone Wars. He expanded his operations and influence throughout the Outer Rim by utilizing a network of outlaws who transported his goods across the galaxy, thus establishing a formidable criminal empire.
At the remarkably young age of 80, Jabba established his criminal organization on the isolated desert planet of Tatooine, and he moved his illicit operations into a former B'omarr Monastery.
During one assignment, Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi uncovered evidence that tied Jabba to the Trade Federation and its preparations for the assault on Naboo. However, Jabba avoided any serious consequences and continued his rule over Tatooine.
Jabba maintained an intense rivalry with Gardulla Besadii the Elder for many years; the two were competing for control of the planet for almost three decades.
In 21 BBY, Anakin Skywalker, accompanied by his Jedi student Ahsoka Tano, was hesitant to go back to Tatooine via the Twilight. The purpose was to discuss granting the Galactic Republic access to the secret Hutt hyperspace lanes for use against the Confederacy of Independent Systems in return for saving his son Rotta at the Teth monastery. The Jedi Order successfully delivered Rotta to Jabba's Palace, despite the interference of Asajj Ventress and Dooku. Consequently, the Hutt Cartel became an ally of the Republic, and the Grand Army of the Republic was granted safe passage through Hutt Space and the Arkanis sector.
During the Galactic Empire's time in power, the Hutt mobster maintained a shaky alliance with the government. They were careful not to interfere too much with his illicit activities to prevent the collapse of the Outer Rim's economy. However, Han Solo, Jabba's top smuggler, was compelled to dump a shipment of Kessel spice when the Millennium Falcon was boarded by an Imperial patrol. Seeking compensation for his lost spice cargo, the Hutt dispatched bounty hunters to pursue the fleeing smuggler. After Greedo, a Rodian, was killed by Solo, the latter spoke with Jabba at Docking Bay 94 in Mos Eisley. The crime lord relented, granting him more time but reminding him of the consequences of failure.
The crime family also became embroiled in a gang war with the Zann Consortium, which began on Felucia where the Hutt intended to sell an ancient Sith artifact to the Empire. Tyber Zann deployed a task force that eliminated Jabba's mercenaries, but he was captured by the totalitarian government and sentenced to the spice mines of Kessel. He escaped and narrowly avoided execution by a bounty hunter hired by his rival. Zann eventually reached an agreement with Jabba, stating that he would not encroach upon any Hutt world except for Hypori and Saleucami, which would then belong to him.
Prior to the Battle of Endor, Jabba was killed by Leia Organa at the Great Pit of Carkoon on his sail barge during Luke Skywalker's saving of Han Solo.
After Jabba's death, his base of operations was taken back by the B'omarr Order, and his empire started to fall apart as his greedy lieutenants seized its remnants. The Kian'thar Llleag'Mak used intimidation and bribery to gain control over parts of Jabba's empire. The Rodian Revidjasa formed crucial alliances with Zygerrian and Thalassian cartels, taking over Jabba's slaving operations in the Mid Rim. Revidjasa was on the verge of becoming a permanent fixture in that region during the conflict between the Empire and the New Republic.
Kumac was the quickest to act among the Hutts, allying herself with Brasck, a Brubb soldier of fortune previously employed by Jabba, who had seized some of Jabba's smuggling and slaving operations in the Outer Rim Territories. With Brasck's help, she gained control of Jabba's leading syndicate operations in the Expansion Region within weeks of Jabba's death, while her peers were still in shock. Kumac also called in favors from her Imperial contacts to secure sufficient power to fend off any major attack, while Brasck started his own smuggling operation.
Kumac's old rival, Jelasi, also performed well after Jabba's death, claiming the Ig'zxyck Flare syndicate for himself and attempting to "legitimize" much of Jabba's old operations, assassinating those who opposed his new direction. Kumac and her clan were enraged by this, as they wanted to continue in the same manner as Jabba, using crime and intimidation to gain more power.
However, the two emerged as the new joint leaders of the Desilijic kajidic—and, consequently, the leaders of Hutt Space, due to Desilijics' dominance—after a brutal round of infighting, because they had both claimed more of Jabba's holdings than anyone else.
One year later, Jabba's father arrived and revived his empire. This was because Zorba discovered Jabba's "true last will", which entitled the elder Hutt to all of Jabba's holdings. Through the courts, Zorba managed to take control of the clan and wrest control from Kumac and Jelasi. However, his reign was short-lived and ended after a series of events, including his attempted revenge against his son's killer and the will being declared a forgery by the Hutt courts. Zorba was disgraced and went into hiding, presumed dead. Soon after, Jabba's nephew began to follow in his uncle's footsteps and expand Jabba's empire even further than Jabba himself. The palace of Gorga the Hutt became the new headquarters of the criminal empire.
During the New Republic era, it was supported by Hutt Space. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, most of Hutt Space was devastated by the invaders, and Gorga's Palace served as the base of operations for the Hutt Underground for one year. After the war ended, the Hutt rebellion against the Yuuzhan Vong returned to Nal Hutta. A year later, the Galactic Alliance claimed authority on Tatooine, raising the question of whether the Desilijic Empire would face a second demise.