The Eurasian Union reveals organized crime: 821 networks with a total of 25,000 members are poisoning the economy.

Criminal networks in the European Union are infiltrating legitimate businesses across the 27-member bloc and heavily rely on corruption to expand their operations. This is evidenced by a report published on Friday by the European Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation. Europol identified 821 particularly dangerous criminal networks with more than 25,000 members in the bloc.

Examples of criminal networks:

• An Italian businessman of Argentine origin, specializing in drug trafficking and money laundering through companies in Spain.
• An Albanian accomplice based in Ecuador, importing cocaine from Colombia and distributing it in the EU through fruit companies.

Europol also mentions families from the Italian organized crime group 'Ndrangheta, investing profits from drug and arms trafficking into real estate and other commercial activities across Europe.

Features of criminal networks' activities:

• The limitless nature of the network structure, which includes 112 nationalities.
• Half of the networks are involved in drug trafficking.
• More than 70% of networks engage in corruption to facilitate criminal activities.

In Belgium, where drug smuggling thrives in the port city of Antwerp, organized crime poses a serious threat to society. Europol will pass on data to law enforcement agencies for a more effective fight against criminals.