Poland is facing a fresh challenge – organised crime, which is increasingly liable for foreigners. The head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, Tomasz Siemoniak, admitted that the country has a problem with criminal groups made up of foreigners. In an interview with the Polish Radio Programme I, politician of the Civic Coalition stressed that Poland must face “hard crime” which is gaining strength.
Import crime: violent methods and fresh threats
According to data provided by the Ministry of abroad Affairs, in 2024 foreigners accounted for 5% of all suspects of crime in Poland. However, it is not the number, and the nature of the action is the most worrying. – There is simply a violent crime of import. Actually, there's not a week before there's any information about violent clashes, violent actions. Most of these are actions between members of these gangs," said Siemoniak.
The Minister pointed out that abroad criminal groups are trying to master various areas of illegal activity, specified as drug trafficking, weapons or extortion. “We are talking about the hard crime we gotta face here,” he added.
Georgia in the spotlight: evidence detentions and deportations
The authorities pay peculiar attention to the citizens of Georgia. According to the Ministry of abroad Affairs, Jacek Dobrzyński, in 2024 Polish police stopped 1895 Georgians, of which 136 were arrested. At the end of last year, 322 citizens of this country stayed in Polish prison centres. However, this is not the end of the action – in 2024 2589 Georgians were expelled from Poland on the basis of the decision of the Border Guard.
– Police data are clear – abroad gangs are trying to enter Poland, master various areas of crime," emphasised Siemoniak.
Migration deportations: a policy of the Ministry of abroad Affairs under scrutiny
In the context of the fight against organised crime, the head of the Ministry of abroad Affairs besides referred to the issue of deportation. We'll keep this in the next fewer days. Last year's level – about 8,000 deportations. This is the scale of showing our policy, especially erstwhile it comes to those people who commit crimes or are associated with crimes," said Siemoniak.
The politician pointed out that in 2024 there were over 8,000 deportations from Poland. “Just due to the fact that you talk about something little or individual doesn’t have full cognition doesn’t mean that the facts don’t happen. This number was large, it is simply a lot, as if it were converted into airplanes or transportation to the Ukrainian border," he added.
What about deportation policy?
Although the subject of deportation is not always widely commented on, the action of the authorities is clear. Poland consistently removes crime-related persons from the country, as well as those who violate the law. In the context of Ukrainian citizens who make up a large part of migrants in Poland, Siemoniak stressed that deportations besides concern this group.
– However, this is all the time, due to the number of Ukrainian citizens in Poland, in various categories it concerns them most – said the head of the Ministry of Interior.
Summary
Poland faces the challenge of organised crime involving foreigners. The activities of the Ministry of abroad Affairs, including evidence deportations and detentions, show that the authorities take the problem seriously. But is this adequate to halt "import crime"? Time will tell, but 1 thing is certain – this subject will proceed to arouse emotions and require decisive action.
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Siemoniak: Poland cannot cope with import crime
