Transnational organized crime

U.S. agents arrested two top leaders of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel in Texas on July 25, the justice department said, striking a major blow to one of the most powerful and violent criminal organizations in the world.

Undated images of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia provided by the Mexican Attorney General's office in Mexico City on August 1, 2003. Two top leaders of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel, including its co-founder Ismael Zambada Garcia, were arrested on July 25, 2024 in Texas, the US Department of Justice said.

Ukrainian convicts Volodymyr Barandich (C) and Arthur Kachurovsky (L) and a guard (R) wait in a courtyard of the Boryspil penal colony outside the town of Boryspil, Kiev region, on July 4, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Artur Kachurovsky is one of thousands of Ukrainian prisoners who have taken up the offer to join the army and fight the Russians in return for a pardon.

Police in Athens have arrested a suspected crime boss with the underworld title of "vor v zakone" - or thief in law - wanted by Russia under an Interpol red notice, police officials have said.

Europe has stepped up its fight against Russian-speaking organized crime groups since the assassination of a clan leader in 2013 in Moscow triggered a power struggle among the crime network.

Turkish, Spanish and French police forces dismantled an international drug cartel, capturing the mob's wanted leader in Spain in a joint operation, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has announced.

The Greek police's organized crime unit broke up a meeting of Russian-speaking gangsters who had gathered in central Athens on Tuesday, making 13 arrests, it was announced on Wednesday.

A 22-year old Turkish national was jailed pending trial in Greece on Tuesday after killing another Turk and seriously injuring a third in a gun attack, with police sources saying both victims were members of a criminal gang.

The gun attack took place at a supermarket in the port city of Piraeus on Friday afternoon.

Greek authorities confiscated some 46 kilos of cocaine hidden in a container with bananas aboard a vessel inspected at the port of Piraeus, police sources said on Tuesday.

Last week, Greece announced it had dismantled an international criminal group trafficking cocaine in shipping containers from Latin America to Europe.

The 48-year-old Albanian leader was in trouble with the law in Turkey as well - 64-year-old Greek 'Pablo' was arrested for arms trafficking

Greek authorities have dismantled an international criminal group trafficking cocaine in shipping containers from Latin America to Europe, police said on Thursday.

Two Albanians and two Greeks were arrested after a months-long investigation launched by Greek drugs and contraband enforcement authorities in cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).