Brussels, 28/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Police Office (Europol) published on Thursday 22 October its “OCTA 2009” (Organised Crime Threat Assessment) of current and future trends of organised crime affecting the European Union. According to this analysis, the major areas of crime are drugs trafficking, people smuggling, illegal immigration, fraud, counterfeiting and money laundering. Europol has identified five criminal hubs in the European Union.
The North West is a distribution centre for heroin, cocaine, synthetic drugs and cannabis products. This criminal hub mainly affects the Netherlands and Belgium, and its influence extends to other countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, the Baltic States and Scandinavia. These networks are reportedly upheld by criminal logistics and financial platforms based in the Middle East and above all in Dubai. In the South West, there are criminal markets of cocaine, cannabis, trafficking in human beings and illegal immigration. West and North West Africa as well as other parts of this continent have emerged as significant feeders for either the South West criminal hub or directly to important markets and distribution centres in the EU. Cocaine trafficking that transits via West African countries (mainly the Gulf of Guinea) from South America and to Europe, has dramatically increased, the report states. Lithuanian criminal groups play a central role in the Northern criminal hub, while Saint Petersburg is the logistic centre for trafficking (sexual exploitation of women, illegal immigrants, cigarettes, counterfeiting, synthetic drug precursors and heroine) from the Federation of Russia, Kaliningrad, Ukraine and Belarus. The Southern zone plays a central role for cigarette smuggling, counterfeit products and the production of forged euro notes. Italian criminal groups, which mainly bring in their products from China, hold the reins for trafficking in the region. There has been a dangerous explosion in the trade of counterfeit medicines from China, Hong Kong, India, Thailand and Turkey, the report states. The South East criminal hub is reputed for bringing in opiates via the Balkans and the north of the North Sea through Central Asia and Russia. There has been a surge in cocaine trafficking in the port of Constanta (Romania), with cocaine arriving increasingly into the EU via Turkey and the Balkans.
The OCTA report also shows there is an increase in cannabis plantations in the EU as well as in the number of victims of people smuggling and in the number of exploited illegal immigrants. Low-cost airline companies have become a precious asset for gangsters, the report states, saying the counterfeiting of papers and the abusive use of the transport sector, mainly budget airlines, are the main factors why people trafficking has been facilitated. The document continues by saying that these flights are an extremely effective way to carry out localised drug distribution. In addition to placing crime under five high-risk hubs, OCTA also gives detailed information on the main crimes. For example, it is mentioned that criminal groups most active in human trafficking are Bulgarian, Nigerian and Romanian, or that the value of counterfeit euros seized was close to €34 million in 2008 alone. The OCTA report for 2009 is available online at: http://www.europol.europa.eu . (B.C./transl.jl)