The number of foreigners suspected of involvement in organized crime is rising in Poland. According to data from the Central Police Investigation Bureau (CBŚP), in 2025 a total of 265 foreign nationals were charged in such cases, which is 81 more than the year before. According to information described by Rzeczpospolita, the overwhelming majority of them came from countries that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The largest group among the suspects were Ukrainian citizens — 111 in total, the same number as a year earlier. However, the sharpest increases were recorded among suspects from Belarus, Armenia, and Georgia. In the case of Belarusians, the number rose almost fourfold, from 12 to 45. The number of Armenian suspects increased from 9 to 23, while the number of Georgians rose from 1 to 11. Altogether, around 80 percent of the foreign suspects were from Russian-speaking backgrounds.

These figures show that Polish law enforcement is increasingly dealing not with local criminal structures, but with gangs operating on an international scale. Last year, CBŚP dismantled 157 criminal groups, including 131 Polish groups, 20 international groups, and six Russian-speaking ones. While the number of dismantled Polish gangs fell by nine, the number of international groups increased by three.

Experts point out that the growing number of suspects from Eastern countries is not accidental. Tomasz Safjański, a former police officer and professor at WSB University, quoted by Rzeczpospolita, believes this reflects the lasting entrenchment of Eastern criminal groups in Poland. In his view, their activity is becoming more diverse and, at the same time, more difficult to detect.

According to the analyses cited, individual groups tend to specialize in different types of crime. Belarusian networks are said to focus, among other things, on cigarette smuggling, even using weather balloons for that purpose. Georgian gangs have been linked to burglaries and the theft of luxury watches and diamonds. Ukrainian groups, in turn, are believed to be behind “bank impersonation” scams run from call centers operating, among other places, in Kyiv and Odesa.

What raises the greatest concern, however, is the change in their methods. Increasingly, the issue is no longer limited to violent street crime, but also includes cybercrime, human trafficking, and sophisticated economic and customs fraud. It is precisely this digitalization and internationalization of criminal schemes that make such organizations far harder for law enforcement agencies to uncover.

The CBŚP report also shows that on average every tenth suspect involved in organized crime was a foreign national. Most often, they operated within international gangs, which are becoming increasingly visible in Poland. In 2025, police arrested 138 leaders of Polish criminal groups, 21 leaders of international groups, and two leaders of Russian-speaking criminal organizations.

The growing activity of Eastern gangs shows that organized crime in Poland is undergoing a significant transformation. Transnational structures, international links, and modern forms of criminal activity are becoming increasingly important. For the services, this means having to adapt their methods to an opponent that is operating more professionally, more flexibly, and across borders.