BRUSSELS, June 28 (BalkanView) – Organized crime in Europe has evolved into a global industry involving hundreds of thousands of individuals, with criminal organizations increasingly operating like multinational corporations and becoming more difficult to dismantle, according to a new Europol report.
In its latest assessment, “Decoding the EU’s Most Threatening Criminal Networks,” Europol estimates that around 400,000 individuals are linked to organized criminal structures across Europe, a fivefold increase compared with estimates published just two years ago. The agency identified 731 criminal networks that pose the greatest threat to the European Union’s security.
“Criminals are advancing,” European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner said while presenting the report in Brussels.
Western Balkans remain a strategic hub
The report confirms that the Western Balkans continue to serve as one of the most important transit and operational zones for organized crime in Europe.
Particular attention is given to Albanian criminal networks, which Europol says have established deep operational links with South American drug cartels and the Italian mafia organization ‘Ndrangheta. These groups play a key role in the logistics and distribution of cocaine from Latin America to European markets.
According to the report, Albanian criminal organizations are no longer confined to the Balkans and actively manage segments of the supply chain in countries such as Brazil and Colombia before drugs are transported through European ports.
The European cocaine market is currently estimated to be worth approximately €31 billion annually.
“Criminal corporations”
Europol warns that modern criminal organizations increasingly resemble large multinational companies.
Around 85% of criminal networks use legitimate businesses as fronts for money laundering and concealing illegal activities. Restaurants, hotels, casinos, tourism projects and construction companies are among the most common vehicles used to legalize criminal proceeds.
“These are not street gangs. These are multinational criminal corporations,” Brunner said.
Criminal groups increasingly rely on encrypted communications, virtual private networks (VPNs), fake social media identities and sophisticated financial structures to evade law enforcement.
Law enforcement under pressure
Although European security agencies dismantled 623 criminal groups between 2024 and 2026, Europol noted that 533 new criminal structures emerged during the same period.
Europol Executive Director Jürgen Ebner warned that arresting individual criminals is no longer sufficient.
“As long as there is a profitable criminal business model, new actors will continue to emerge and replace those who have been arrested,” Ebner said.
From drugs to cybercrime and human trafficking
Beyond drug trafficking, the report highlights the rapid expansion of cybercrime, money laundering and human trafficking.
According to Europol, Chinese criminal groups use fraudulent employment agencies and call centers to recruit women who are subsequently exploited in prostitution networks across Spain and France.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s largest criminal organization, Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), has already begun establishing operational cells in Europe.
A growing challenge for Europe
The Europol report concludes that organized crime can no longer be considered a peripheral security issue but has become a major transnational economic and political challenge.
For Western Balkan countries, which remain a critical transit corridor linking the Middle East, Latin America and the European Union, the warning is particularly significant: criminal networks are becoming faster, more adaptable and more difficult to detect than ever before.