FBIS3-55219
"drsov004_v_94007"
FBIS-SOV-94-004
Document Type:Daily Report
6 Jan 1994
Lithuania
Minister on Results of Crime Fighting in 1993
WS0401133194 Vilnius RESPUBLIKA in Lithuanian 22 Dec 93 No.
247 p 6
WS0401133194
Vilnius RESPUBLIKA
Language: Lithuanian
Article Type:BFN
[Report by Remigijus Barauskas: "A Temporary Illusion of
Success in Combating the Mafia"]
[Text] After the adoption of the law on preventive
detention, 58 groups of organized crime were identified and
detained in Lithuania over a short time. "However, their
removal has resulted in the annexation of their spheres of
influence to other groups or to the establishment of new
organizations. The fight against crime by police and legal
measures alone produces a temporary illusion of success. If we
do not eliminate the economic factors promoting crime, this
fight may lose any sense," said Lithuanian Interior Minister
Romasis Vaitekunas at a collegium meeting yesterday.
According to the minister, some leaders of criminal gangs in
Vilnius, Kaunas, and Siauliai have emigrated and established
contacts with international criminal organizations. According
to Interpol reports, Lithuanian criminal groups have relations
with those in the United States, Israel, Germany, Russia, and
other countries. The list of criminals includes large-scale
leaders of groups known both to Interpol and the police in
different states. The key areas of Mafia activities are drug
trafficking, trade in oil products and arms, money forgery,
racketeering, prostitution, and gambling.
Resolute actions of the police in applying the law on
preventive detention helped stabilize the criminal situation in
the country. The rate of crime has dropped from 40 in early 1993
to 10 percent by the end of the year. Criminal police have
uncovered one-third of the crimes. However, the fact that the
number of violent crimes has increased considerably is
worrisome. In comparison with last year, the number of recorded
murders with premeditation and attempts to murder have increased
by 53 and 76 percent, respectively. The criminals'
aggressiveness and violence is growing. Firearms were used 127
times (or twice) more often than last year, and 124 explosions
were registered this year. There are increasingly more attacks
on policemen. In the opinion of the interior minister, trust in
law enforcement institutions has risen, because the number of
people informing the police about racketeers has increased
five-fold.
R. Vaitekunas predicted that the level of crime should
stabilize next year. Combating organized crime remains the key
task of the police. This task should be facilitated by a law on
control over criminal communities (or an anti-Mafia law) which
is currently being drafted.