European Union criminal networks are penetrating legal businesses across the 27-nation bloc and relying heavily on corruption to expand their businesses. This is the grim picture that emerges from a report published Friday by the European crime agency.
Europol has identified 821 particularly threatening criminal networks, with more than 25,000 members across the bloc.
According to the agency, 86% of these networks are capable of infiltrating the legal economy to conceal their activities and launder their criminal profits.
Europol cited the example of a gang leader identified as an Italian businessman of Argentine origin living in Marbella, Spain. The person specialized in Drug traffic and money laundering and manages several companies, including one that imports bananas from Ecuador to the EU. It also has sports centers in Marbella, shopping centers in Granada and several bars and restaurants, the press release said.
“An Albanian accomplice, based in Ecuador, is responsible for the importation of cocaine from Colombia to Ecuador and its subsequent distribution to the EU. Ecuadorian fruit companies serve as a front for these criminal activities,” the report states .
In recent months, huge quantities of drugs have been hidden in banana shipments across Europe. In February, British authorities announced they had discovered more than 12,500 pounds of cocaine hidden in a shipment of bananas, breaking the record for the largest seizure of hard drugs in the country. Last August, customs officials in the Netherlands seized 17,600 pounds of cocaine found hidden in banana crates in the port of Rotterdam. Three months earlier, a police dog had sniffed 3 tons of cocaine hidden in a crate of bananas in the Italian port of Gioia Tauro.
/PA
Europol also cites Italian families ‘Ndrangheta organized crime syndicate, one of the most powerful, largest and richest drug trafficking groups in the world. Profits from drug and arms trafficking as well as tax evasion are invested across Europe in real estate, supermarkets, hotels and other commercial activities, the statement said.
Another characteristic of these networks is the borderless nature of their structure, with 112 nationalities represented among their members, the report indicates.
“However, when it comes to the location of their main activities, the vast majority maintain a strong geographic concentration and do not extend their main activities too widely,” Europol said.
As for their activities, drug trafficking and corruption are the main concerns of European officials.
As record quantities of cocaine are seized in Europe and violent drug-related crimes become increasingly visible in many EU countries such as Belgium and France, drug trafficking is emerging as the largest activity key, the report said. Half of the most threatening criminal networks are involved in drug trafficking, either as a stand-alone activity or as part of a portfolio.
Additionally, more than 70% of networks engage in corruption “to facilitate criminal activities or obstruct law enforcement or legal proceedings.” 68% of networks use violence and intimidation as an inherent feature of their modus operandi,” the report states.
In Belgium, with Antwerp the main gateway for Latin American cocaine cartels to the continent, gang violence has plagued the port city for years. In January, Belgian authorities said they had seized a record amount of cocaine at the port of Antwerp last year, the BBC reported.
As drug use increases nationwide, federal authorities say the trade is rapidly penetrating society.
“Organized crime is one of the biggest threats we face today, threatening society with corruption and extreme violence,” said European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson.
Europol said the data would be shared with law enforcement agencies in EU member countries, which should make it easier to target criminals.
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