Europol report confirms presence of organised crime in Malta - PN

The Nationalist Party has drawn attention to a recent report that confirmed the presence of organized crime operations in Malta.

“In a report on organized crime in the countries of the European Union, published in April by Europol under the name, ‘Decoding the EU’s Most Threatening Criminal Networks’, Malta was listed negatively, revealing the shortcomings in the fight of our country‘s authorities against organized crime”, the PN said.

The report reads that, “Italian mafia-style criminal networks are often centred solely around Italian key members. Yet, with activities in more than 45 countries, they have a very broad reach in the EU (besides Italy mainly in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Malta, Romania and Spain) and beyond (in Colombia, Switzerland and the United States of America). Their main activities are drug trafficking (including cocaine, cannabis and heroin), extortion and racketeering, waste trafficking, tobacco excise fraud and money laundering.”

The PN, in its statement, said that this is the first report of its kind by Europol, providing information and exposing the operations of 821 organized crime networks across the European Union.

“According to the report, Europol identified Malta as being used as one of the top five countries, with organized crime activity focused on theft using force or theft from properties.” These criminal groups, considered highrisk, come from Croatia, Georgia, Italy, and Romania, the PN said.

“At the same time, it was also found that there is a presence of criminal networks from Georgia in Malta, mostly active in property-related organized crime, including theft using force or theft from properties, along with presence in Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain.”

In light of this, the Nationalist Party reiterates that the country has the advantage of natural borders and supposed control over who enters and exits our country. “However, it seems that this advantage is not being used in the public interest to ensure safety in our country.”

The Nationalist Party urges the Government to work on these statistics and show that it is addressing them, “as we need to demonstrate that there is no room or place for organized crime in our country. This can only be achieved if there is investment in our country’s security and enforcement.”

The Nationalist Party thanked the police officers who do their duty to maintain order and security.