Malta finds itself in the middle of an immigration and drug smuggling route, which connects Africa with mainland Europe.

A Europol report, “EU organized crime Threat assessment 2009”, said that the southern and south west criminal hubs are both influences by the re-activation of a smuggling route passing through Libya and Algeria to Spain, Malta and Italy.

The report states: “Criminal organizations based in the country (in Libya and Tripoli) are involved in the facilitation of illegal immigration and trafficking of human being across the Mediterranean, and recently the use of the route has diversified to include the smuggling of cocaine and even heroin into the EU.”

The report states that the factors affecting the development of the criminal hubs mainly the changing patterns of supply and demand in the EU as well as in the neighbouring regions.

The report explains the mechanics of different crime organization in Europe such as the North East criminal hub, which si supplied by the Russian Federation, Belarus and the Ukraine, from or through which almost any commodity can be sourced.

Turkey’s role as a major feeder for the EU is further supporting the key role of these groups. An additional factor is the market for synthetic drugs in the Near and Middle East for which the Turkish groups are an important supplier. Synthetic drugs may be produced in the region or due to its proximity facilitated by Bulgarian experts, or the drugs may be smuggled from Western Europe and possibly exchanged by Turkish groups for heroin.

The Turkish groups are using Romania and Bulgaria as entry points for heroin into the EU, and are co-operating with ethnic Albanian and Serbian groups who often handle at least certain parts of the final distribution starting from Albania and the Kosovo region and proceeding via Austria into Western Europe.

Certain Italian groups often maintain a low profile but in reality influence many criminal markets
in the Southern criminal hub, including Malta, the EU and beyond, either independently or through cooperation with other OC groups.

Their direct contacts with Colombian criminal syndicates as well as the Spanish, French and Portuguese OC groups ensure them a powerful role in the cocaine trade. The role of the Italian OC groups in this market enables them to source the commodity directly and to use and collaborate with other groups for further distribution in the EU.

The existing routes for the smuggling of cannabis products from North Africa mostly via Spain to the EU are also nowadays used for cocaine. Moroccan OC groups are also involved in trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation, especially in the North West criminal hub, and play an important role in facilitating heroin from the secondary distribution centre in the Netherlands to destination markets.

Read full report: EU organized crime Threat assessment 2009