New trends in the expansion of Western Balkan organized crime

This note demonstrates the growing importance of the 'South East hub' for the trafficking of illicit commodities to and from the European Union, analyses the factors which led to the rise in international stature of Western Balkan organized crime and predicts that the massive presence of irregular immigrants in the southern part of the European Union, combined with the sinking into recession of this region, will almost certainly provide another opportunity for Western Balkan organized crime groups and their global expansion.