Dell’Utri alleged to have blackmailed Berlusconi. Former PM paid for silence in court

UN launches campaign against illegal trade, which is worth more than six times the global aid budget and has high human cost

A Sicilian priest who was murdered by the Mafia in 1993 was declared a martyr by Pope Benedict XVI, a step toward sainthood, the Vatican said in a statement on Thursday.

The seemingly unstoppable spread of Italy’s most powerful organised crime group has now seen it establish outposts in the UK and Ireland, according to anti-mafia judges.

The suspects are charged with damaging the state budget for US$2.2 million through tax evasion and money laundering.

Bulgaria's ruling majority in the Parliament has adopted another part of a controversial bill authorizing confiscation of illegal assets at midnight Wednesday and the debates are continuing full force Thursday.

The top twelve organized crime activities in Bulgaria generate some BGN 3.5 B (EUR 1.7 B) annually, according to a report of the Sofia-based NGO Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD).

35 criminal groups are currently active in Montenegro, Belgrade-based daily Večernje novosti has reported.

Eight people have been charged for their part in the “biggest ever” cocaine ring in Sweden, in which several tons of cocaine at a value of 4.5 billion kronor ($665 million) had been imported from Colombia.

The trade of illegal and counterfeit pesticides is proliferating in Europe reports Europol. The exceptional ‘low risk – high profit’ margin, combined with the lack of harmonisation in legislation and implementation, make this a fast growing area of organised crime.