EU plagued by dangerous crime gangs: Report

THEEU is confronted with 821 very dangerous criminal gangs, whose bosses issue orders from as far as Dubai or South America, Europol said in a comprehensive report. The organisations — mostly dealing in drugs, especially cocaine — have not only spread their tentacles into front businesses such as property, construction, trucking and nightclubs, but are also threatening or bribing prosecutors and judges, it said.

Authorities said they intend to crack down on the criminal web by mapping it out and enhancing law enforcement coordination across the 27-member bloc.

“The message to the most threaten$)" -$($) ' ) /2*-&. $. 4*0 )ǭ/ #$ anymore,” Europol chief Catherine De Bolle said as she presented the report in Brussels.

'"$0(ǭ. )/ -$*- $)$./ -Ǡ )) '$ . Verlinden, added: “We are not just shar$)" ơ) $)".Ǡ 2 - .$") ''$)" ) 2 $) *0- ơ"#/ " $)./ *-" )$. -$( Ǡ ) era marked by innovation, collaboration and steadfast commitment to ensuring the safety and security of the European Union and its citizens.” The 51-page report by the Hague. ' 2 " ) 4 "$1 . ơ-./ƕ 1 - $)Ƕ depth analysis of the criminal challenge EU law enforcement faces.

# ( %*-$/4 *! 0-*+ ǭ. (*./ )" -ous gangs focused on drug smuggling — cocaine, cannabis, heroin and synthetic

-0". Ǹ ) *+ - /$*). 2 - (*./ *Ƥ ) '* / $) '"$0(Ǡ -( )4Ǡ / '4Ǡ /# Netherlands, and Spain.

Other activities were extortion, racketeering and migrant- and gun-smuggling.

The organisations, which notably tar" / 2*-& -. $) 0-*+ ǭ. +*-/. !*- *--0+tion, “are agile, borderless, controlling and destructive,” De Bolle said.

#$' /# 4 *Ƥ ) *) 0 / %0./ few core illicit activities in a geographic area, they usually had a mix of nationalities in their membership.

Ǯ * ( ( - ./ / $. $((0) ǟ / $. multinational environment. Among the

ƮƱǠƬƬƬ .0.+ /.Ǡ 2 ơ) ƭƭʈ ) /$*) '$ties,” she said.

-$( *.. . 2 - (*./ *Ƥ ) '* / in the country where their gangs operated, “but in six per cent of cases the leaders are outside the EU,” De Bolle said, with Tur&$4 Ǡ *-* * ) *0/# ( -$ $/ . favoured places.

'"$ ) 0./$ $)$./ - 0' ) Tigchelt — whose country currently holds the EU presidency — said the violent gangs attracted to Antwerp port as

0-*+ ǭ. ( $) -0" .(0""'$)" #0 2 - “mainly controlled” from elsewhere.

European Union countries need to exert “much more pressure as a diplomatic bloc on these third countries... We must stand united against these countries in order that they better collaborate with us,” he said.

Van Tigchelt also raised the alarm about “zombie drugs” — synthetic stimulants — making inroads into Europe,

Ƥ - 0.$)" .+$& $) -0"Ƕ- ' / deaths in the United States.

“We are seeing synthetic drugs more and more in Europe, and we see even stronger and stronger synthetic drugs,” he said, referencing one such drug &)*2) . ' && Ǡ +- . )/ $) '"$0(ǭ. Flanders region near the North Sea coast.

Europol warned that many of the most threatening crime networks have been around for years, with a third operating for over a decade — and some criminals even able to continue operations from jail.

# 4 2 - *Ƥ ) )*/ *2 4 ' 2 )forcement measures taken against them.

“We are confronted with a stark reality, the pervasive threat posed by organised criminal networks capable of threatening both judges and prosecutors,” EU justice commissioner Didier Reynders said.

He said that menace was being lev'' / /# 0-*+ ) 0 '$ -*. 0/*-ǭ. Ʀ $) 03 ( *0-"Ǡ /2*Ƕ4 -Ƕ *' * 4 - / /* "* Ƥ - -*..Ƕ *- - crime and the networks behind them in the European Union.

THE REPORT BY THE HAGUE-BASED LAW AGENCY GIVES A FIRST-EVER INDEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE CRIMINAL CHALLENGE EU LAW ENFORCEMENT FACES