FBIS4-45469 "jptdd027__l94047"
JPRS-TDD-94-027L JPRS Narcotics 20 June 1994
EAST EUROPE POLAND

Involvement of Organized Crime Elements in Drug Trade Viewed

Involvement of Organized Crime Elements in Drug Trade Viewed 94P20850Z 94P20850Z CSO [Editorial Report] Several recent Polish newspaper items have described and commented on the rise of organized crime in Poland and its involvement in the international narcotics trade.
Criminal Gangs
An editorial in the 28 April Warsaw daily POLSKA ZBROJNA complained of the increasing involvement of organized "gangs" in large-scale auto-theft, money-laundering, and drug-trafficking operations. The paper stated that these criminals, who are reportedly equipped with high-tech communications systems and fast cars that have no trouble in outrunning police cruisers, are able to use the profits from their criminal activities to thwart the criminal justice system: "Even if the police succeed in arresting a member of one of these gangs, highly qualified and generously paid lawyers get him out in 48 hours. Bail is paid immediately. The events described in the press every day confirm the rumors about corruption in the police department, the public prosecutor's office, and the courts." Frequent violent clashes between rival gangs have led the police to predict that "in the next few years, on the streets of our cities, one will be able to see scenes as depicted in the U.S. gangster films of the 1930's."
Polish "Mafia"
A 19 May ZYCIE WARSZAWY article entitled "How a Mafia Is Born" noted that, while Polish authorities reject the use of the term "Mafia" for Polish gangs, there are "well-organized gangs" that control prostitution, extort protection money from legitimate businesses, smuggle drugs on a large scale, and have infiltrated the criminal justice system. According to the Warsaw daily, the three main gangs are named "Pruszkow," "Ozarow," and "Wolomind" after districts of the Polish capital. Increasingly violent "turf" wars are said to have included the use of military weapons, including hand grenades.
Police Powers Limited
Journalist Ireneusz Krzeminski has traced the rise of organized crime to the limitations placed on police authority and procedures since 1989 by successive democratic governments. Writing in the 8 May RZECZPOSP0LITA, Krzeminski asserted that the new restrictions have demoralized the police and made them reluctant to take action, while, at the same time, emboldening a criminal element used to the harsh repressive measures of the communist regime.
Russian Example
An editorial in the 9 May ZYCIE WARSZAWY warned that the recent experience of Russia demonstrated the dangers inherent in unimpeded growth of organized crime: "We should see what the Mafia has done in Russia, where, in only the past few years, it has become one of the forces controlling the country. Now they are looking toward us as partners. In this context, we should look at the development of organized crime in our country."
Drug Smuggling
Polish criminals have made their country the fourth-largest European producer of illegal amphetamines, behind the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Belgium, according to an article in the 9 May ZYCIE WARSZAWY. Polish amphetamines are reportedly destined primarily for the German and Scandinavian markets. The paper noted that Polish drug dealers had been arrested recently in Berlin for attempting to sell 10 kilograms of Polish-produced amphetamines, worth approximately 144,0O0 German marks. The 27 April ZYCIE WARSZAWY reported that the largest single seizure of illegal drugs in the history of Britain was made on board a Polish freighter in the harbor of Liverpool. The ship, which was en route from Venezuela to Poland, contained 520 kilograms of "very-high-quality" cocaine, hidden in glue cans. The cocaine was said to have been intended for distribution to West European markets via Poland.