The UOOZ has divided foreign criminal gangs according to their origin in the Russian-speaking, Italian, Balkan, Asian and Arabic ones. The smallest spheres of interest belong to the Italian groups that, along with money laundering, focus on illegal trading with antiques and monuments of art and on fraud. Foreign underworld also deals in trading in stolen cars, fraud and illegal migration. UOOZ spokesman Pavel Hantak said this was long-term knowledge and the gangs' interests could change in the future. "Organised crime constantly develops.
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Cameraman freed from Guantanamo ... present, we have seen that violence has receded," Hantak said. The gangs are increasingly shifting to economic crime, Hantak said. Violent crime is mostly within the realm of Russian-speaking and Asian gangs, Hantak said. The former are active in racketeering, focusing on businessmen and prostitutes for the so-called "protection," the annual report for 2006 said. Besides, gangs from the former Soviet Union are involved in robberies and murders. Asian gangs are also involved in blackmail and kidnapping. Both groups are also devoted to the forced exaction of receivables, the report said. "Blackmail of businessmen and exaction of debts under the cover of various forms are considered the most dangerous types of crime," the report said. "Both of these forms are mainly accompanied by violence on the part of Ukrainian criminal groups," it added. The UOOZ said earlier further complications could arise from the arrival of Caucasian gangs that may try to win the divided territories in the Czech Republic. "In 2006, there were several talks between senior representatives of the Russian-speaking crime in connection with the division of the territory between Russian, Ukrainian and Caucasian organised crime groups. A single authority, the 'vor v zakone' was established for the region of Prague or the whole Czech Republic," the civilian counter-intelligence (BIS) said in its 2006 annual report. The BIS said there were also Armenian criminal groups. "A group of organised crime has established itself in social structures. Most of its criminal activities is covered by normal business activities," the BIS said. As far as the Balkan and Arabic criminal groups are concerned, they are widely involved in money forgery, the UOOZ said. Balkan gangs also forge documents, it added. The Balkan and Asian groups have their specificities. The latter are involved in the forgery of brand-name goods, the former in pickpocketing. Besides, they are engaged in trafficking in women and prostitution, the UOOZ said. "The activities of Bulgarian criminal groups in the Czech Republic mainly focus on people trafficking, prostitution, car theft, money and payment card forgery, drug dealing and pickpocketing," it added. However, the activity of the Balkan gangs decreased in the Czech Republic in 2006 as they are moving to other EU countries, the UOOZ said. Of the Asian groups, Vietnamese gangs are the most active. They are focusing on the growing of cannabis, which is a new trend, the National Anti-Drug Centre (NPC) said.
(Ceske Noviny)
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