Europol has compiled a map of 821 criminal networks that are "most threatening" to the continent. The agency presented a comprehensive picture of the inner workings of gangs involved in activities ranging from drug smuggling to human trafficking, AFP reported.
A key aspect is "the strategy of criminal networks to infiltrate the world of legitimate business - as a facilitator of crime, as a cover to conceal crime and as a means to launder criminal profits," Europol said in its 51-page report.
Some 86% of Europe's most threatening criminal groups currently use "legal business structures". The most vulnerable sectors targeted are construction and real estate, hospitality and logistics.
According to Europol, criminal groups favour real estate as a way to launder criminal proceeds, using lawyers or financial experts "who are sometimes unaware of the criminal origin of the assets".
Nightclubs are often used for drug trafficking, extortion and racketeering, as well as smuggling migrants and weapons, the agency added.
In logistics, particularly in major European ports, private sector workers are "regularly targeted for corruption" as they can "facilitate unfettered access to ports and port systems", including data.
The majority of the most dangerous gangs in Europe are involved in drug smuggling - cocaine, cannabis, heroin and synthetic drugs - and their operations are most often based in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.
The report pays particular attention to Dubai, which it says "has become a remote focal point where high-level members and other criminal actors, such as brokers and promoters, reside to coordinate the activities of criminal networks and impede their detection by law enforcement."
"However, when looking at the geographical location of the leaders of high-risk criminal networks, Dubai does not appear to stand out as a secluded haven for the leaders," Europol said.
Last month, for example, Dutch judges sentenced Ridwan Taghi, one of the country's most wanted drug lords, to life in prison following his arrest in Dubai in 2019.
But Europol has warned that many of the most threatening criminal networks have been around for years, with a third operating for more than a decade - some even able to continue operating from prison.
"This means that law enforcement attention must remain focused on long-established criminal networks, even if they are under law enforcement surveillance and even if action has already been taken against them," Europol said. /BGNES
