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Europol representatives speak about organized crime in Brussels
Photo: Olivier Hoslet / EPA
According to a report by Europol, more than 800 serious criminal networks threaten the EU. These 821 professional gangs have more than 25,000 members. This is according to a report on organized crime.
For the first time, these networks have been identified and analyzed based on data from all EU member states. "Serious and organized crime is omnipresent and continues to pose a major threat to the internal security of the European Union."
The report only looks at the most threatening networks and how they work. They are highly professional and internationally operating organizations. They are flexible, controlling and destructive. "They do not operate in an isolated criminal underworld," the report says, "but have a direct impact on the lives of EU citizens." The report cites the powerful 'Ndrangheta families in Italy as an example. Profits from drug and arms trafficking would be invested across Europe in real estate, supermarkets and hotels.
According to the analysis, the gangs' main business is drug trafficking. Every second network is involved, mainly cocaine, but also synthetic drugs and cannabis. Other crimes include fraud, burglary and theft, human trafficking and human smuggling.
According to Europol, the greatest threat lies in the infiltration of the legal business world - the goals are to facilitate and cover up crimes and money laundering. 86 percent of the networks use legal business structures; a large majority work with corruption and violence.
Europol boss Catherine De Bolle said: "Criminals thrive on secrecy, but we are changing that." The analysis should help to tackle organized crime more specifically.
kha/dpa