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"These cross-cutting criminal threats enable and facilitate
most, if not all, other types of serious and organized crime,"
such as drugs and people trafficking, Europol said in a study of
organized crime that it publishes every four years.
So-called "ransomware", which blocks a person or company's
computer until a fee is paid to unlock it, has become a major
concern.
But traditional crimes also now rely increasingly on new
technology, such as the drug trade's use of drones, and burglars
using computers to scout neighborhoods online and track social
media posts to see when people are away from home.
Europol says there are some 5,000 international crime groups
under investigation, with members from more than 180
nationalities.
Drug trafficking remained the largest criminal market in the
European Union, generating some 24 billion euros ($25 billion)
of profit per year.
People smuggling has become more lucrative as wars and unrest in
the Middle East and Africa have pushed record number of people
to try to reach Europe, with 510,000 illegal crossings into the
EU in 2016.
"Nearly all of the irregular migrants arriving in the EU along
these routes use the services offered by criminal networks at
some point during their journey," Europol said.
(Editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek and Robin Pomeroy)
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