The EU’s law enforcement body emphasizes that criminal organizations take advantage of weaknesses in financial frameworks and digital systems, operate transnationally, and rapidly adjust.
Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency, highlighted on Friday that organised crime within the EU is evolving swiftly, growing more complex, transnational, and durable.
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A total of 731 criminal networks have been detected operating inside the EU, involving more than 400,000 individuals representing 118 nationalities.
Their primary activities include drug trafficking, followed by various forms of fraud, including online scams.
The EU’s law enforcement body particularly points out the growing prevalence of cybercrime.
«Criminality is fostered online and is accelerated by AI and technological advances,» stated Jürgen Ebner, Acting Executive Director of Europol, during a press briefing in Brussels on Friday.
These criminal networks also leverage vulnerabilities in financial institutions and international trade.
«They rely on strong financial resources, deploy advanced countermeasures, engage in significant corruption levels, and consist of globally interconnected cells across the EU and beyond, functioning as international enterprises,» Jürgen Ebner explained.
He emphasized the importance for law enforcement to understand the link between organised crime and societal structures.
Indeed, 85% of the most dangerous criminal groups exploit legitimate business frameworks to facilitate illicit operations.
Europol highlights that focusing solely on individuals or high-value targets is insufficient; as long as the underlying business model continues, new players will emerge to replace those apprehended.
«Ultimately, the goal extends beyond arresting isolated perpetrators; it involves identifying, disrupting, and dismantling entire criminal networks, targeting their leadership, and seizing the assets and profits that support their activities,» said Themistos Arnaoutis, Chief of the Cyprus police.
Therefore, the EU agency advises enhancing coordination within European logistical hubs such as the Port Alliance, a public-private partnership initiated in 2024 to safeguard ports from drug smuggling and criminal infiltration.
Additional recommendations include reinforcing cross-border law enforcement collaboration, increasing investments in disrupting illicit digital infrastructures, and following financial trails to recover criminal proceeds.
«The strength of criminal networks lies in their cross-border operations,» Themistos Arnaoutis noted. «Hence, our power must reside in our capability to collaborate beyond borders.»