The brutal Mafia law: in Germany the alarm bell is being sounded ᐉ News from Fakti.bg – World

German authorities are sounding the alarm: fears are growing of possible mafia wars between rival criminal networks in Germany and the Netherlands. The hostage drama with a man and a woman in Cologne, who were brutally tortured, is evidence of this. Their kidnapping is said to be an act of revenge for an unpaid drug delivery. The two, apparently members of a German organized crime group, were rescued in a police operation that resulted in four arrests, and after the search of six buildings and apartments in the city, two more people were detained.

In addition, the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which borders the Netherlands, saw seven bomb attacks in just three weeks, including ATM bombings.

All these crimes are attributed to the so-called “Mafia Law” – a collective name for organized crime groups originating from Moroccan communities in the Netherlands. The term is highly controversial, because those affected define it as racist.

More than 800 criminal networks in Europe

The Dutch mafia is just one of many criminal organisations: Europol identifies 821 separate organised criminal networks in Europe with more than 25,000 members.

Most criminologists agree that the group no longer has a homogeneous ethnic identity. “In the 1990s, the so-called ‘Wet Mafia’ began importing cannabis into the Netherlands, and later expanded its activities to include importing cocaine,” Dirk Peglo, head of the German Association of Criminal Investigators, told DV. “We are therefore dealing with a group whose structures have developed over decades. And not only Moroccan citizens belong to this criminal organization.”

Similarities and differences with other criminal groups

By all accounts, this mafia is clearly much more brutal than organized crime groups in Germany. Stories of brutal torture and severed heads spread in the media, and there was even talk of plans to kidnap the 18-year-old Dutch heir to the throne, Amalia. The famous Dutch criminologist Cyril Feinout has calculated that the mafia murders between 10 and 20 people each year.

“All criminal groups are prone to violence, but this is particularly pronounced in the Dutch mafia,” says Mahmoud Jaraba, political scientist and crime researcher. In terms of structures and business practices, the groups resemble each other, he adds, and he gives the example of the Arab clans in Germany – where the main players come from the same family, but they are not closed groups, Jaraba explains. “Without their networks in and outside Germany and the Netherlands, they would not be able to survive,” the expert adds.

Conscienceless murders

The brutality and ruthlessness of the mafia is extra clear in the Netherlands in 2021 with the murder of Peter de Vries. The famous crime reporter was shot dead on the street in Amsterdam after his TV appearance.

The Dutch mafia is also behind the murders of a public prosecutor and the brother of a key witness. In February, 17 suspects, including gang leader Ridwan Taghi, were given long sentences for multiple murders and attempted murders. Tagi and three other mafiosi were given life sentences, and in June, six more men were convicted of the murder of Peter de Vries.

Despite these successes of justice, criminal networks seem to flourish and extend their tentacles to Germany. “In the state of North Rhine-Westphalia we saw that the group is already active in Germany – and that they are particularly brutal,” says researcher Dirk Peglo.

Although the Cologne kidnapping showed that there can be disputes between criminal organizations, they generally seem to work closely together. Crime expert Mahmoud Jaraba agrees. In this cooperation, German gangs are apparently responsible for the import of cocaine and heroin obtained by their Dutch counterparts.

“We can’t just sit and wait”

Researchers do not know exactly when the so-called “Mafia Law” also began to spread in Germany, nor which crimes were committed in the country at its behest. Dirk Peglo of the German Association of Criminal Investigators is firmly convinced that politicians in Germany must do more to support the police in their fight against organized crime:

“We cannot sit back and wait for structures to be created in Germany that are similar to those in the Netherlands. We must work very closely with the Dutch police and prevent things like those in North Rhine-Westphalia from becoming the norm,” he stressed.