Violent Drug Gangs Bring Mayhem to Western Europe

Organized crime used to be considered a remote threat in much of Western Europe, but ruthless violence by criminal gangs is now rattling the peace in some of the world’s safest societies.

• Sweden now has Europe’s highest gun-homicide rate, and the military is helping police fight street gangs. 
• In Denmark, residents of the commune Christiania shut their famed open-air cannabis market after violent gangs took over. 
• In Belgium, armed security forces have started guarding customs trucks carrying seized cocaine to prevent criminals from stealing it back.
• One of the most alarming exhibits of what the 21st century drug trade has wrought upon long-peaceful European societies came earlier this year in the Netherlands, long known for its tolerant attitude toward recreational drugs...