Europol presented its second report in Brussels on the 731 “most dangerous criminal networks” (MTCNs) operating within the European Union was presented by Europol in Brussels; this number is down from the 821 identified in the first report, in 2024. The report also includes ten networks from Cyprus, with Police Chief Themistoklis Arnaoutis noting that eight of these networks are primarily involved in drug trafficking, while the rest are linked to extortion, illegal gambling, money laundering, and other serious criminal activities.

The presentation was given by Magnus Bruner, Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Europol Deputy Executive Director Jørgen Ebner, and Cyprus Police Chief Themistos Arnaoutis, on behalf of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Commissioner Bruner noted that Europe’s security “is largely due to the excellent work carried out by law enforcement authorities,” while warning that “criminal networks are very adaptable. They shift, merge, and constantly reinvent themselves, which makes them harder to track down on the one hand, but also to dismantle.”

As the Commissioner noted, with 85% of criminal groups using legitimate business methods, “our economies remain deeply vulnerable to the infiltration of organized crime”. As he noted, “these are not street gangs; they are, in fact, criminal enterprises,” multinational corporations and criminal networks “that concentrate on the most profitable markets,” such as drug trafficking, which generates 31 billion euros in profits, digital fraud, and migrant smuggling.

Speaking on behalf of Europol, Mr. Ebner described the report as a barometer of crime. Regarding the networks that have remained active since 2024, they “are hierarchically structured, often family-based, clan-based, and well-connected internationally. Their cells are active worldwide. One could speak, so to speak, of global enterprises,” he added. 

“They have an extremely strong financial foundation and use legitimate business structures, and they employ many countermeasures. Corruption and intimidation. When their main leader is arrested, they are immediately replaced by someone else, and this demonstrates their stability,” he noted.

Regarding the rate at which networks are dismantled, he stated that “we can say that approximately 80% of the criminal groups we had identified two years ago have either disappeared, been dismantled, or split up. And this can also be considered a success of police action. This proves that law enforcement is working and that our collective efforts are yielding results.”

He clarified, however, that the current 731 networks do not indicate a decline in organized crime. “Is this a sign that organized crime has decreased in any way? No, it is not. It is simply a reflection of what member states are actually seeing in their investigations, and this is reflected in the report,” he said.

Regarding the reasons why 20% of these networks survive, “they have very strong financial backing, employ sophisticated countermeasures, and rely on high levels of corruption. They are globally and internationally connected cells throughout the EU and beyond, thus constituting an international enterprise, and they operate within a fluid criminal ecosystem. When they come under pressure from the police, they reorganize and restructure. And they can easily set up new structures. They can easily replace people.”

This is how he explained the “criminal opportunism strategy” that gives the Europol report its title. “If a high-profile criminal target is arrested, the demand doesn’t disappear. Because the opportunity for profit remains, so someone else will take their place, and you can see this to some extent in the report as well—that yes, there were 820 groups two years ago and now we have 730, so someone has taken their place.”

The main conclusion for the head of Europol is that “international police cooperation works. Many of the criminal networks we had identified were dismantled through coordinated actions across Europe and beyond, with our partners, and Europol played a supporting role in this.” According to Mr. Emberner, the goal for the future should not be limited to identifying high-value targets and taking action against them through operational task forces. “We must tackle the ecosystem from the ground up, and that is the path forward.”

The Chief of Police, speaking on behalf of the Cypriot Presidency, described the report as a “call to action.” As he emphasized, “Organized crime continues to evolve rapidly, becoming increasingly sophisticated, transnational, and resilient.”

Regarding the data on Cyprus, she stated: “Of the 59 criminal networks identified as active in Cyprus, 10 were assessed as among the most dangerous and were included in our national contribution to the report. Eight of these networks are primarily involved in drug trafficking, while the rest are linked to extortion, illegal gambling, money laundering, and other serious criminal activities.”

As he emphasized, “No country can tackle organized crime on its own. The strength of criminal networks lies in their ability to operate across borders, adapt rapidly, and exploit weaknesses wherever they exist. “Our strength must lie in our unity, our cooperation, and our shared determination,” Mr. Arnaoutis emphasized. “Together, we can ensure that organized crime will not determine the future of our societies,” he added.

Responding to a question from CNA regarding money laundering and underground banking via “money mules”—who are increasingly using cryptocurrencies and moving away from cash transactions—as a trend in member states with a strong role as financial centers, such as Cyprus, Mr. Arnaoutis acknowledged that the authorities’ work is not easy. 

“This is a new modus operandi for criminal groups—exchanging money for cryptocurrencies—but we, the member states, with the support of Europol, are flexible, very well trained, and we have the technology to track down and bring criminals to justice, as well as to trace the money—to follow the money [to follow the money]. That is our goal, and we are achieving it with great success,” he said.

Mr. Ebner then added that “tracking cryptocurrency transactions is typically an area where you need to bring together financial investigation experts and, at the same time, experts working in the field of cybercrimecrime,” noting that this is one of Europol’s areas of expertise.

“We have two centers working on this, and there we have representatives from all 27 member states who also contribute their expertise, and I would say that there we can certainly offer an advantage that also helps member states make progress on these more difficult criminal investigations,” he added.

Commissioner Bruner agreed with the head of Europol, emphasizing that this is “one of the key elements of Europol’s new mandate,” referring to the innovation hub. Furthermore, we worked together with other authorities within the European Union—AMLA, for example, the anti-money laundering authority, as well as customs authorities and others”— to develop this new mandate, which he himself presented in Brussels earlier this week.

In response to a related question to Commissioner Bruner about the European Ports Alliance, he replied affirmatively. “The answer is yes, we will expand it. We have seen that the Ports Alliance is, in fact, very successful,” he said, noting at the same time that the focus will be on expanding it to smaller ports.

“We will have a meeting on the Ports Alliance next week in Dublin,” where “we are inviting new ports and new member states that wish to participate, and we are also offering our own expertise—or the Ports Alliance’s expertise— to third countries outside the European Union,” he added, signaling a willingness to cooperate with Latin American countries following his recent visit to Colombia. Currently, ports in Germany, Belgium, England, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Poland are part of the Alliance.

Source: CNA