COVID-19 – And Criminal Exploitation

At the height of the COVID-19 international crisis, EUROPOL released a report titled 'Pandemic Profiteering: how criminals exploit the COVID-19 crisis'. At a time when Member States of the European Union are predominantly preoccupied with measures aimed at stopping the spread of the virus and controlling a raging outbreak, EUROPOL's report is a stark reminder that society's need to continue the fight against criminality, is however, hardly misplaced.

The mayor of Palermo has recently issued a blunt warning – crime gangs are preying on people's hardship and inciting violence. In turn, EUROPOL warns on the alarming adaptability of the criminal underworld and the novel spin given to crimes as old as time, targeting not only the more vulnerable members of society, but also people's general sense of foreboding. EUROPOL reports on the predominance of the sale of counterfeit and/or sub-standard goods including pharmaceutical products – a practice also confirmed through