A sample of crime and grime...

Getting back to our roots this week, and--in part thanks to a PM that suggested I was picking on other countries again--we're going to take a quick look at crime in Poland (although take this as a bit of an example, as plenty of other countries in the region are facing the same issues).

That said, as I realize I will be asked about this, when it comes to the war in Ukraine, Kursk is getting tough, and the Russians are not only pressing at the usual locations (Kupiansk, Pischane, Pokrovsk, etc.), but also they are launching attacks in the south (Zaporizhzhia front).

Which leads to still more questions. Such as: how are they able to do this? Are they not worried about running out of men?

The answer appears to lie in men and promises of more men from North Korea. The figure 10,000 is being banded about, with that including 1,200 to 1,500 North Korean special forces. As far as I am concerned, I have no idea why this figure is doubted. Some may doubt that 100,000 are on the way (or more)--and here, yes, it's right to voice skepticism purely from the standpoint of cost both on the Russian and North Korean side, but should this be ruled out as an impossibility?

Nope.

Is this (finally) raising concerns in the West. Yes, and it should. Just as should the flow of drones over NATO states--which indeed does happen with regularity.

Yes, this all does come with further promises of WWIII or nuclear war should NATO allow even long-distance strikes with Western-supplied weapons, but it still amounts to one thing: Russia has no qualms when it comes to bombing civilian targets, committing genocide, killing prisoners, etc., and at the same time the West simply is failing to call Vladimir Putin's constant bluff. Yet there will eventually come a point (possibly with Putin bolstered by masses of North Korean troops) that there will be no bluff left to call.

This is something to think about.

Now on to the far less upsetting or stressful theme of organized crime.

In short, much has been afoot. And much--as in the past--has to do with narcotics. And purely to avoid being accused of foreigner bashing, we are going to pull examples from Poland that should (well, in the mind of Yours Truly anyway) make you think. Here are a few mostly from late August to end-September--and yes, there is a Ukrainian angle, which we will get to right up top.

But as this will undoubtedly be quite a long post, allow me to highlight a few prime examples--with the understanding that yes, there were pot busts (local and also international--linked to Spain); meth busts (local--a massively worrying issue); hooligan busts (monthly stuff); VAT scams, cigarette smuggling and prostitution busts in between).

But here are a few that did catch my eye:

Car thieves are back (well, they never really left)...

Back as the tail end of August a reasonably inconsequential story popped out and remained somewhat on my radar. Yes, car thief gangs out of Silesia were back, with this revealed by an investigation on behalf of the Lower Silesian Branch of the Department for Organized Crime and Corruption of the National Prosecutor's Office in Wrocław. More noteworthy is that raids involved the Wrocław Board of the Central Bureau of Investigation of the Police, the CBSP, German police and more, and that this was not just a low-level car theft operation. Crimes included the theft of luxury passenger cars in Germany, followed by the transportation of said vehicles to Poland, which included special deliveries to "other people," which may well mean that--if your were prepared not to ask too many questions--you ordered and you received.

Charges have now been filed against 17 people accused of stealing several dozen passenger cars and motorcycles in Germany, which may not sound overwhelming, but... these were primarily Porsche models, and advanced technology was used to handle (somewhat less advanced) Porsche security.

And if you are still wondering why Yours Truly finds said thefts intriguing, think about this: the theft of a high-end Porsche is one thing. Getting it to a buyer across the border and getting away with it is another. And yes, the CBSP has since confirmed that these were "thefts on order," which means prior selection and ordering of specific vehicles by their subsequent buyers from Poland.

Moreover, the grand total was larger, with police estimating that this included some 30 passenger cars in Germany--mostly Porsche models, but also Maserati, Jaguar, Jeep and Volkswagen and other brands, as well as a BMW K1300 motorcycle and a Chevrolet Camaro

Some 29 people have been detained, including 24 members of organized criminal groups, including three leaders of various groups.

Just think. In this day and age.

The nostalgia is all but killing me.

War or no war, the drugs still flow...

Since the war began there has obviously been a tremendous influx of Ukrainians to Poland. This includes a great deal of Ukrainian men of fighting age. Many of these are being disenfranchised to the point that it is getting arguably harder for them to work legally, and there is a definitely a push to force them back to Ukraine into an army that desperately needs troops.

We can talk patriotism all we want, but there is also reality, which dictates that some young men will resort to anything to avoid an increasingly brutal war (which was already nightmarish to begin with). There have also been some criminal elements who simply were the first to get out of dodge and who were never going to be up to any good in the first place.

This means that yes, some--although hopefully very few--will surface in organized crime abroad. (Which also means that any mention of this may get you labeled anti-Ukraine, which is frankly, ridiculous. The bigger, more rational picture (and conundrum) is that the Ukrainian young-man's dilemma abroad needs to be handled with care. It simply is not simple.

A case in point was a recent Central Bureau of Investigation of the Police (CBSP) bust, which took place in cooperation with the Department of Combating Drug Crime of the National Police of Ukraine, targeting the production of synthetic opioids and cathinones. According to the CBSP, raids seized drugs capable of killing up to four million (synthetics are like that). The raids also led to "the liquidation of the largest synthetic opioid laboratory in Poland, where methadone was produced in crystalline form, as well as eight multi-laboratories in Poland and Ukraine, where synthetic cathinones, mephedrone and Alfa-PVP, as well as methadone were produced."

Sounds impressive, but the scale does not lie, as 38 locations were targeted, and among drugs and precursors seized included total of 195 kilograms of methadone in crystalline form, 153 kilograms of Alfa-PVP, as well as over 430 liters of reaction mixtures of various types of drugs and precursors were seized. 

Along the way seven members of a local drug gang responsible for the drug production process were detained in Poland and Ukraine. This is likely just beginning. Now does this mean that "young Ukrainian men" are an inherent danger abroad. Nope. Does it mean that war nips narco trafficking in the bud? Nope.

But is there a risk that the increasingly disenfranchised and determined not to fight population of young Ukrainian men abroad are likely or unlikely to be tempted by big profits in organized crime?

You decide.

And yet still more drugs...

Speaking of narcotics, right at press time the CBSP released news of yet another bust, this one needing the joint cooperation of the CBSP, the Polish Border Guard, KAS, as well as counter-terrorist units from the Central Bureau of Investigation "BOA."

In all, 19 people and seized the equivalent of over PLN 850,000 in cash, luxury watches and almost 14 kg of drugs in the form of amphetamine, marijuana and mephedrone--with the gang accused of smuggling no less than 360 kg of pure cocaine worth PLN 72 mln from Colombia to Poland via the Netherlands. These were the infamous banana shipments--which likely came as a very valuable tip-off when the gang accidentally shipped cocaine-supplemented bananas to Polish grocery stores. 

In addition, one of the detainees, Adam K., is suspected of murder--this being a 22-year-old cold case that may now soon be solved.  The gang's activities were apparently running full-tilt from 2000-2020, and the above-mentioned murder relates to that of an Armenian citizen in the Blue Note club in Poznań in 2002. 

Raids in Poznań, Warsaw and the Tri-Cities not only resulted in 19 arrests, but also the seizure of more than PLN 850,000, as well as that of luxury watches and almost 14 kg of drugs in the form of amphetamine, marijuana and mephedrone. Property seized is worth an estimated PLN 10 mln. 

And yet... still more drugs...

As if that were not already big news, only one day before the CBSP revealed a 52 kg cocaine seizure, which also included 16 kg of methamphetamines and equipment, with the value of drugs seized estimated to come to PLN 28 mln.  Police also seized PLN 300,000, EUR 27,500 and cars belonging to two suspects who were charged by the Podkarpackie branch of the National Prosecutor's Office. They now face up to 12 years in prison.

The trash mafia still exists...

Poland's trash mafia was a monstrous subject of debate during the Law-and-Justice reign. I've written about this in the past, but to be short and to-the-point, this is not one that I would put on PiS. True, PiS did change laws that should have never been created in their original form, which essentially stated that no, open-air trash pits (full of who knows what) could not simply remain unsorted, untreated and above ground forever, and that huge fines would be levied on those who did not do the above.

This meant that suddenly mysterious cases of arson appeared at dumps all over the country. Such a fire would tend to burn for days if not a week or more with the impact of a small, highly toxic volcano. In fact, there was and 18-month period during which there was probably never a day where multiple fires were not still raging at once.

This was felt specifically during the winter when auto smog, heavy weather and just the average local (and also often highly toxic fireplace burning of trash) was already a problem.

And let's just say those were dark years.

Then suddenly, the winter was bearable again. Why?

Mostly because said fires burnt out.

Yet the trash mafia does still exist, as evidenced by a September raid that saw 34 people were detained, 14 of whom were placed in temporary arrest (typically for three months).  According to the CBSP, illegal business entities established to trade in waste, including hazardous waste, in violation of applicable regulations, and in this case said waste was then abandoned in various places across the country in highly hazardous fashion. Raids that also saw the CBSP aided by  Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Regional Inspectorate for Environmental Protection and the Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection discovered "barrels of hazardous substances." And if the press release is to be believed, those detained are facing... more than 17,000 charges.

!!!

Primarily, these include leading and participating in an organized criminal group, laundering money from crime, violating regulations on waste management and certifying falsehoods in documents.

Let's just say that this is an important bust. In the meantime, PLN 3.5 mln was seized, and those under arrest now face up to five years in prison. 

And what was in those barrels.

Oh, about 17,000 charges worth of something.

Sounds scary to me anyway.

It's hard to be a mafia thug on the lam...

This also caught my eye (and imagination), as it is becoming increasingly more and more difficult to remain a fugitive in Poland (and Europe). In September the CBSP Shadow Hunter Unit out of Białystok proved this yet again by tracking down Mariusz K. and arresting him in Warsaw.

Mariusz K. was wanted on an arrest warrant to serve a sentence of 3.5 years in prison for a robbery, during which he injured a jeweler by both giving him a sever beating and spraying him with gas. 

A second fugitive, Adam Z., wanted since 2019, was detained by Shadow Hunters and Łódź officers at the train station in Zakopane. Adam Z. was slightly more notorious, as he was wanted by a European Arrest Warrant and two arrest warrants in connection with the suspicion of leading and participating in an organized criminal group, introducing significant amounts of drugs into circulation and assault. 

Reportedly, Adam Z. who had been hiding in Zakopane, was completely surprised by the sight of the officers and did not offer any resistance. A member of theWidzew Łódź hooligan gang, he is suspected of heading the production of narcotics as well s distribution. The 37-year-old gangster was also found carrying a false ID.

That's all for today, but important is to note that this is a mere sample--and that gang activity is certainly not specific to Poland. Think of this as a sample of not only crime in CEE, but also in the Old EU--and here it should be said that the levels of cocaine-linked violence in some Old EU states has far exceeded that of our region (with the notable exception of a couple of states in the Balkans).

Something to think about anyway.

Preston Smith is a licensed investigator based in Gdansk, Poland. He can be reached at query@cddi.pl.

Narco bust photo courtesy of the Polish CBSP.