Europol: Organized crime on the rise

The increasing drug trade is a breeding ground for violence, said De Bolle. According to Europol, the production of cocaine in South and Central America is booming. This is flooding Europe. "The situation is dramatic," said De Bolle. Trafficking in other drugs is also on the rise.

According to investigations by the European police authority based in The Hague, 821 serious criminal networks are active in the EU. These gangs with more than 25,000 members are highly professional and unscrupulous, Europol recently warned. According to the analysis, the main business is drug trafficking.

Urgent appeal

The money earned from drugs in Europe remains predominantly on the continent and is invested in the local economy, De Bolle continued: "This makes organized crime one of the greatest dangers of our time."

The police need technical means, powers and personnel to stand a chance in the fight against the networks, said De Bolle. "If we don't invest more, we will lose this fight."

Following the fierce conflict between German and Dutch drug gangs over presumably 300 kilograms of cannabis in the Cologne area, the Association of German Criminal Investigators (BDK) warns of serious crimes such as explosive attacks and kidnappings. "Holland must be a warning to us," said the BDK chairman for North Rhine-Westphalia, Oliver Huth, in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. In the Netherlands, explosions in front of homes or businesses are a frequently used means of pressure by drug gangs.