Russian Mafia in Berlin

Organized crime syndicates are flourishing in Russia, where political and economic disarray has led to a climate of growing lawlessness. Now some of the toughest gangs are staking out turf in Germany, bringing drugs, theft and prostitution with them. And the worst, say law enforcement officials, may be yet to come."In 2007, ten groups from former Soviet states were investigated on 95 suspected crimes, and in the previous year fourteen groups with 167 suspected crimes were investigated," Bernd Finger, head of organised crime task force from the city-state's office of criminal investigation (LKA).