BERLIN

The number of investigative proceedings against criminal gangs has increased enormously, Germany’s interior minister said on Wednesday.

“We have a record number of investigations,” Nancy Faeser told a news conference in Berlin, while presenting an annual report on organized crime in Germany.

According to the Federal Criminal Police Office’s (BKA) report, the number of organized-crime investigations increased from 594 to 696 in 2021, which included drug trade, violence, economic and cybercrimes.

At least 7,503 suspects were arrested, up from 6,529 in 2020, according to the report. Some 7.5% of the suspects were armed.

One of the reasons for the increased number of investigations was the information obtained by the police about the criminals, after the hacking of EncroChat's secret communications network.

Police in the Netherlands and France retrieved more than 20 million secret messages in 2020, and as a result of this, numerous drug dealers were also arrested in Germany.

The economic damage caused by organized crime groups in Germany has significantly increased last year and reached to an estimated €2.2 billion ($2.2 billion). By comparison, the previous year's figure was around €837 million.

According to the BKA, the fact that the number of fraud crimes increased sharply last year shows how quickly some criminal gangs react to new opportunities to commit crimes.

The organized-crime cases, which were related to the coronavirus pandemic, tripled in 2021, compared to the previous year.

This increase was largely due to the unlawful application for the use of coronavirus emergency aid from the federal government.