Organized crime on the rise in Finland

Crimes committed in Finland by professional gangs from Eastern Europe are on the increase. The upswing in crime stems from the expansion of the passport-free Schengen area last year.

The National Bureau of Investigation says this type of crime poses a considerable threat to Finland. The free movement of people between the 24 countries of the Schengen area within the EU has opened the door to professional criminals.

Tuija Hietaniemi, Special Investigator from the National Bureau of Investigation told YLE TV News that international co-operation must be improved. A quick response to crime was of the essence, she noted. Retailers say forged notes, currency exchange fraud and professional shop lifting are all on the rise. They want further action by the police to prevent such crime and quicker co-operation between stores to stop the perpetrators in their tracks.

So typical, blame it on the foreigners. I have seen it happen so often that it gets boring and they do something about the foreigners but crime doesn’t want to …rise and when they realize that crime is not imported it’s just …too late!

Mexico attacks

Gunmen have killed at least nine people and injured six more in an attack on a cattle ranch in southern Mexico, authorities have said.

At least 40 people launched the attack outside the home of a prominent cattle breeder in Guerrero state, police said. It was the second attack to target ranchers in as many days. On Saturday at least seven people died in another shooting in the same state.

Guerrero has experienced a wave of violence blamed on drug cartels. The ranch in Petatlan attacked on Sunday belongs to Rogaciano Alba Alvarez, the head of the Guerrero cattlemen's association. Officials said the gunmen drove up to the ranch in pick-up trucks early on Sunday morning before opening fire.

A day earlier, at least seven ranchers attending a meeting of the cattlemen's association in the city of Iguala were killed. The motive for the attack on Mr. Alba is not clear, but the scale of both attacks and the firepower used suggest clear links to organized crime, he says.

Organized crime and drugs trafficking seems to be the all time disease for Mexico that keeps it in that low condition with no way out.