Frankfurt (Germany), 14 July (LaPresse) – The president of the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Münch, has sounded the alarm over the transformation of organised crime and the rise in hybrid threats against Germany, citing the use of very young people by criminal organisations, the illegal proliferation of weapons and the growth of espionage activities as key concerns. In an interview with *Welt*, Münch explained that the phenomenon of ‘Crime as a Service’ is also evident in Germany, with criminal organisations outsourcing individual crimes to external perpetrators. These increasingly include minors, recruited via social media to carry out murders, arson or other serious offences in exchange for relatively modest sums of money. The head of the BKA highlighted in particular the situation in Berlin, where a generational shift is taking place within Turkish-linked organised crime. “We are talking about a ‘Generation Z mafia’: younger, more aggressive groups who are inclined to flaunt violence on social media to intimidate rivals and bolster their own reputation,” he said.
Germany: Police warn of growing ‘Generation Z mafia’ and increased risk of espionage
Frankfurt (Germany), 14 July (LaPresse) – The president of the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Münch, has sounded the alarm over the transformation of organised crime and the rise in hybrid threats against Germany, citing the use of very young people by criminal organisations, the illegal proliferation of weapons and the growth of espionage activities as key concerns. In an interview with *Welt*, Münch explained that the phenomenon of ‘Crime as a Service’ is also evident in Germany, with criminal organisations outsourcing individual crimes to external perpetrators. These increasingly include minors, recruited via social media to carry out murders, arson or other serious offences in exchange for relatively modest sums of money. The head of the BKA highlighted in particular the situation in Berlin, where a generational shift is taking place within Turkish-linked organised crime. “We are talking about a ‘Generation Z mafia’: younger, more aggressive groups who are inclined to flaunt violence on social media to intimidate rivals and bolster their own reputation,” he said.
