Hague-Sana
Organized crime is a major threat to the European Union, unprecedented, and a warning issued by the European police, "Europol", after conducting a careful analysis, revealed that criminal movements have been active and expanded, and their novelty is online fraud.
In a report published by several international media outlets, the European Police dealt with a detailed analysis of the imminent dangers facing the European Union amid the spread of the "Covid 19 epidemic". Which created a favorable and fertile ground to facilitate criminal operations.
The 87-page report, Assessing Serious and Systemic Crime Threats is published every four years and is used by European Union countries to prioritize their fight against crime through 2025.
In the context, Catherine DePaul, Director of Europol, said, “The criminals quickly adapted their illegal operations, their method of work and their methods of discourse to the circumstances of the spread of the Corona epidemic and the accompanying procedures,” noting that the European authorities were able to strengthen their position to warn citizens of the countries of the Union of the frauds facing them that have been done. Monitoring them through coordinated intelligence work.
According to the report, the European police confront international criminal organizations, as 70 percent of them are active in at least three European countries, and it indicates that there is an average of one million robberies in Europe annually.
For her part, Elva Johansson, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs, said that the report clearly shows that "organized crime is a real threat to our societies."
The European Police warned that “law enforcement authorities must be supported to follow the digital path of criminals and track their crimes” at a time when the European Law Enforcement Agency expressed its growing concern about the increasing violence in Europe with the persistence of criminals who also resort to corruption through activities that include the complex structures of money laundering Huge funds.
Johansson pointed out that "in one year, criminals obtained nearly 140 billion euros within the European Union countries," explaining that the aforementioned figure represents one percent of the European GDP, which is more than the GDP of some member states.
The European Police report warns of the potential long-term effects of the "Covid 19 epidemic" and how it can create ideal conditions for the flourishing of organized crime in the future, considering fraud acts among the main internal security challenges facing the European Union and its member states currently.
Organized and serious crime in Europe includes a variety of criminal phenomena ranging from drug trafficking to crimes such as migrant smuggling and human trafficking among others.
Last October, Europol announced that the “Covid 19 pandemic” contributed to an increase in cybercrime in all parts of Europe, especially against children and online fraud, explaining that “criminals quickly exploited the pandemic to target the most vulnerable people in a climate in which the stone prompted users to resort to the Internet at a level that did not Never seen before ”.