Organised crime in Europe is thriving, says Europol

THE HYDRA was a fearsome beast. Lop off one of the legendary monster’s many heads and two would grow in its place.So it is scarcely reassuring that the EU’s police agency, Europol, should pick the Hydra to symbolise the threat Europe faces from . In its latest Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment, published on April 12th, in a passage that exudes fatalism, the authors write: "The experience of law enforcement authorities has shown that even successful and far-reaching disruption of criminal networks has little long-term consequence for the overall activities of organised crime…removing one head does not kill the monster."