Criminal gangs an unwelcome export

TURKU - Finnish paper Turun Sanomat has warned of the ongoing problem of Baltic criminal gangs raiding their wealthy neighbor.

The paper reported that Estonian-Lithuanian gangs were reponsible for a Baltic crime wave in the country with dozens of robberies taking place and jewelry and fur stores among favourite targets.

Referring to Ari Lahtela, the Baltic liaison officer of the Finnish police, the paper wrote that the gangs are expected to continue to be a problem while differences in living standards remained marked.

Turun Sanomat pointed out that Baltic criminal activity was not restricted to Finland alone, but that gangs operate throughout Europe where they are responsible for hundreds of incidents.

The paper said that a large proportion of the drugs on the Finnish market arrived via Tallinn with Estonian criminal gangs organizing deliveries, then leaving distribution to Finnish dealers.

In addition to drug trafficking, Estonian and Latvian criminals were reportedly involved with drug production laboratories, six of which were discovered in the two countries last year.

The paper added that crime in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was well-organized, international and made extensive use of the Internet. Prostitution, gray imports [goods on which no tax or duty has been paid] and people smuggling were identified as the other specialties of Baltic criminal gangs.

Finally, Turun Sanomat noted that Baltic criminals play an increasing role in in Internet crime and are thought to be responsible for a large proportion of the so-called "phishing" crimes [dishonestly soliciting for bank details and identity theft] in the United Kingdom.