Interpol's outgoing Secretary General Jürgen Stock is sounding the alarm about gangs operating on an international scale. "The world is in danger of losing the fight against transnational organized crime," Stock told the German news agency DPA. According to him, the potential of these gangs to destabilize even large industrial countries, for example in Europe, has reached unprecedented proportions.
„They act as global concerns"
Stok will leave his post after a ten-year term, and the best chance to succeed him is the Brazilian Valdesi Urquiza. Interpol, with its 196 member states, is the largest police organization in the world and coordinates international police cooperation, recalls German public media ARD.
Stock emphasizes that the international police organization has reliable information that mafia groups that previously operated on a regional scale have meanwhile spread to all corners of the Earth. “They have become global criminals, they act like the global concerns,", Stok points out. At the same time, they have "astronomical resources" with which they develop the trade in people and arms.
Cocaine is a major source of income
The main source of income for the bandits continues to be the drug trade, which is becoming an increasing problem in Central Europe as well. “We are talking about all types of drugs that are available on the criminal markets. But at the moment, the biggest problem is cocaine", Stok points out.
Despite reports of record quantities of drugs seized in the ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam or Hamburg, the price and quantities offered on the street do not change - a clear sign that there is no shortage, writes ARD. It is estimated that the police seize about 15 to 20 percent of the imported drugs.
Fentanyl is a particularly big problem
A particular danger, according to Stock, lies in the fact that the synthetic opioid fentanyl is becoming more common. “We see that he is settling in the European markets as well."
Fentanyl is potentially more dangerous than other drugs, experts say its effects are 50 times stronger than heroin. Even two milligrams can be a lethal dose. In the US, fentanyl has already become a huge problem and has killed tens of thousands of people.
According to data from the American Institute that studies drug abuse, over 70,000 people died from an overdose of synthetic opioids, and especially fentanyl, in 2021 alone.
Violence on the street
The drug business has consistently led to violence, with crime also increasing at the end of the illegal supply chain. There, on the so-called last mile, local gangs organize street trading. “And since it is very profitable, they also fight for their territory in this phase."
Examples in this regard are Sweden, Belgium or the Netherlands. “But there are also data from Germany that a similar struggle is being waged in the Federal Republic,", Stock points out. In this regard, DPA recalls that there were several explosions in Cologne not long ago. It is believed that they are the result of the battle for supremacy between the drug gangs.
For a successful fight against this type of organized crime, there is a need for even closer cooperation between national police services, says Stock. The authorities in the individual countries should purposefully control the known between 10 and 15 largest groups.