FBIS4-45477
"jptdd027__l94055"
JPRS-TDD-94-027L
JPRS
Narcotics
16 June 1994
WEST EUROPE
NETHERLANDS
Official Report Notes Increase in Organized Crime
Official Report Notes Increase in Organized Crime
BR1706123394 Amsterdam DE VOLKSKRANT in Dutch 16 Jun 94 p 3
BR1706123394
Amsterdam DE VOLKSKRANT
Dutch
BFN
[Unattributed article: "The Growth of Organized
Crime--Gangs Are Increasingly Settling Into the World of
Ordinary Life, CRI Says"]
[Text] Organized crime in the Netherlands is on the
increase. Moreover, criminal groups are becoming more and more
professional and are increasingly managing to settle into the
world of ordinary life, claims the 1993 annual report by the
Central Research Information division (CRI), which was published
Wednesday [15 June].
The CRI, which collects data on crime, confirms that in
1993,
there were 98 active criminal gangs that could be described as
"highly organized." In 1991, there were 59, and when they were
first inventoried in 1988 only three such groups were detected.
By organizing themselves in a more professional manner,
these
gangs are making increasingly large profits. For example, the
CRI cites the ecstasy group that was broken up in 1992, which
achieved an annual turnover of 300 million guilders [G], with a
net result of G240 million. Only a few tens of millions could
be traced. The rest has probably been invested in the world of
ordinary life.
The CRI notes that the proceeds of crime are laundered on a
large scale in the Netherlands. Already back in 1991, the
Fiscal Information and Investigation Department calculated that
G1 billion were being laundered every nine months, using
exchange offices among other methods. According to the CRI, the
control of unusual money transfers has now been improved.
One growing new trend is for criminal groups to attempt to
counter the work done by the police and justice authorities.
The gangs observe police officers at work and also eavesdrop on
them, threaten senior officers in the course of investigations,
and spread false reports aimed at portraying such officers in a
damaging light. These defamation campaigns are causing the
police and justice departments considerable nuisance because on
each occasion an inquiry has to be made as to whether there can
be talk of corruption.
Organized crime has a strongly international character.
Criminal gains are channeled off to tax paradises where there
is little monitoring of finances. Approximately 40 percent of
the core members of highly organized gangs come from abroad.
They mete out physical violence more often than criminal groups
led by Netherlanders. In 1993, there were more than 100 fatal
shootings, 23 of which were executions carried out among the
criminal fraternity.
The annual report also provides data on specific offenses:
Narcotic trafficking remains one of the most lucrative forms of
organized crime. Several hundred criminal organizations are
involved in such activities. According to the CRI, 85 percent
of the heroin encountered in the Netherlands is brought in by
Turkish gangs working the so-called Balkan route. Turkish
coffee houses play a major role in such sales.
Smuggling cocaine to Europe is virtually entirely in the
hands of organizations based in the Colombian town of Cali. In
1993, more heroin and cocaine was intercepted than in 1992. In
addition, a higher number of drug laboratories were closed down.
However, the total amount of marijuana confiscated by the
authorities decreased.
The number of attempted hold-ups increased from almost 2300
to approximately 2700, but the number of successful hold-ups
dropped. Financial institutions, hotels, and restaurants, and
"other businesses" are the main targets of armed robbers.
One-third of all hold-ups are committed within the area of
jurisdiction of Amsterdam, which comprises the provinces of
North Holland and Utrecht.
Relatively speaking, the number of hold-ups is increasing
fastest (by 35 percent) in the police region of
Rotterdam-Rijmond. For the fifth successive year, the
percentage of solved hold-ups has decreased. The figure for
1993 is 29 percent.
The number of car thefts has doubled in just 10 years. In
1993, more than 33,000 motor vehicles were stolen. Cars
manufactured by Opel are the favorite targets of car thieves, by
a margin of almost 10,000 vehicles. Of all the vehicles stolen,
59 percent are subsequently found, half of these within five
days of being stolen. According to the CRI, this means that many
thefts are instances of joyriding, i.e. "the fulfillment of a
one-off need for a vehicle."
Finally, the annual report indicates that a higher number of
financial and economic offenses are being committed. Since the
Center for Reporting Unusual Transactions was set up two years
ago, more than 5000 suspicious financial transactions have been
reported, worth a total of G2.4 billion. It emerged that in
half of these cases, the persons involved already had a criminal
record. A considerably higher number of forged banknotes were
confiscated, the 100-guilder note being the forgers' favorite.
Thanks to better registration by three special police teams,
a substantially higher number of instances of computer crime
came to light. One new form of computer crime involves the
misuse of international telecommunications facilities. For
example, it was discovered that long-distance calls were being
made at the local Netherlands tariff from the Netherlands via
Denmark. The Danish telephone company concerned lost
approximately G2.5 million as a result.