Europol
Within the EU, drug trafficking operations occur most often in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. These businesses are most often associated with unions outside the EU in Albania, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and the United Kingdom.
Today, Europol has published the map of 821 “most threatening” criminal networks in Europe.
In this report, Europol describes in detail the inner workings of criminal gangs with activities ranging from drug trafficking to human trafficking.
The European Police Service, based in The Hague, has for the first time examined in depth the operations of Europe’s most notorious networks.
The report highlights the “strategy used by criminal networks to penetrate the world of legal structures as a means of committing crimes, using them as a “veil” to cover up crimes and as a means of laundering the proceeds of crime. “.
Today, about 86% of Europe’s most dangerous criminal gangs use “legitimate business structures”.
The construction and real estate , hotel and logistics sectors are the most numerous targets of the gangs.
The gangs prefer the real estate sector as a means of laundering and turn to lawyers or financial experts “who in some cases are unaware of the criminal origin of the funds,” according to the Europol report.
According to Europol, nightclubs are linked to drug and extortion trafficking, as well as human and arms trafficking.
In the logistics sector, especially in the main European ports, private sector employees are “systematically” targeted for corruption because they can “facilitate unhindered access to ports and port mechanisms”.
Most of Europe’s most dangerous gangs focus on the drug trade – cocaine, cannabis, heroin and synthetic drugs – and their operations are mainly concentrated in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.
Dubai has become a “remote coordination center”, where high-ranking members of the gang hierarchy reside to avoid detection by law enforcement.
“However, if we look at the geographic location of the heads of criminal networks, Dubai does not appear to be an isolated haven,” the report said.
Many of the most dangerous criminal networks have been operating for years. A third have operated for more than a decade, while some have managed to keep their operations afloat from prison.
“Law enforcement attention should remain focused on long-known criminal networks, even if they are under police surveillance and even if action has already been taken against them,” Europol says.
What did Europol’s analysis reveal?
About 25,000 individuals were found to be involved in the identified networks, which were selected for the threat they were thought to pose. In terms of membership numbers for each group, it is thought that they most often range from 8 to 38 members.
The syndicates were active in a variety of crime areas, such as drug trafficking, fraud, property crime, migrant smuggling and human trafficking.
Overall, 82% of the listed organizations indulged in just one major criminal activity.
Narcotics distribution stood out as a key activity, with half of the most threatening criminal networks involved in drug trafficking either exclusively or as part of a wider portfolio. A third focused solely on drug trafficking.
Within the EU, drug trafficking operations occur most often in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. These businesses most often have connections with unions outside the EU in Albania , Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and the United Kingdom.
A key measure of the threat was the network’s ability to infiltrate the legal business world to create means and fronts to disguise their crimes, with 86% of the most threatening criminal networks using legal business structures. Such links can also be used to launder criminal proceeds, the report says.
Decoding the EU’s most dangerous criminal networks
Europol says the report – “Decoding the EU’s most threatening criminal networks” – will mean greater clarity in the fight against organized crime.
All 27 EU Member States and 17 Europol partner countries contributed data to the study, with plans to use the data to target crime syndicates across borders.
“Criminals thrive in secrecy, but we are changing that. This Europol report is the most extensive study of major criminal networks ever undertaken at European level by law enforcement,” said Europol’s Executive Director, Catherine De Bolle.
This data, now centralized at Europol, will give law enforcement agencies the edge they need to better target and conduct cross-border criminal investigations.
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Publish date : 2024-04-05 03:00:00
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