Laure Bekou, Paris prosecutor: “The penetration of criminal networks in our societies is beyond all fiction”

The national jurisdiction in charge of fighting organized crime (Junalco) has been tasked for almost three years with the mission of attacking criminal groups operating on French territory, particularly those linked to drug trafficking. Under the auspices of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office, this specialized court hears the most complex cases where corruption, money laundering and settlement cases are intertwined.

Laure Bekou, Paris prosecutor, details the world Current issues in the fight against organized crime, of which the most active groups, he emphatically notes, are today “without borders” In terms of funding, geographic projection and use of violence.

Regarding the cases handled by Junalco, how do you characterize the threats associated with organized crime in France?

The fight against highly organized crime is an ongoing challenge, a major challenge. Today, the level of threat is such that at a major strategic level we are identifying risks of destabilization of our rule of law, our economic model, as well as our companies. Given Junalco’s eighty-six files, we recognize that we are dealing with widespread networks.

It is enough to look at what is happening in Belgium and the Netherlands to prove that the organizations we are confronting do not have limitations in their financial capacity, they do not have limitations in their borders or their fields of action (drug trafficking, human trafficking, prostitution networks). …) until the profit amounts to millions of euros. These organizations do not know any limits even in their own rules: they do not prohibit anything anymore. This can be seen by the emergence of cases of retaliation, kidnapping, threats, where the degree of violence is extreme.

The Netherlands and Belgium you mention are regularly rocked by violent crackdowns on drug trafficking. Do you think this situation will repeat itself in France?

If we don’t react enough, this contagion will become apparent. We know that these groups have now reached the threshold of being at the drug entry points in France. In particular, the ports, which are extremely fragile points. These organizations are already designing the port and airport structures, with helpers in our territory.