'organized crime' - tagged features

Pity the poor, or soon to be poor, tax evaders in Germany. They’re either shaking in their boots or hiding behind their lawyers at the moment. This week, teams of auditors fanned out across the country in a blitzkrieg of suspected tax cheats. It’s the country's biggest tax fraud investigation ever. The names under scrutiny come from a CD containing a client-list of a bank in Liechtenstein. The tiny principality of Liechtenstein, between Switzerland and Austria, is a well-known tax haven. The whole affair reads a bit like a James Bond thriller – there's a mysterious informant, a spy agency, large amounts of cash paid for information, as well as some diplomatic mud-slinging thrown in for good measure. From Berlin, Kyle James reports on the men with a licence to audit. 

It’ll be a white Christmas for more European party-goers than ever before this year. Cocaine abuse is on the rise across Europe, and particularly in Spain. So far in 2007, Spanish police have intercepted five shipments each holding over 3 tonnes of the drug. With such high supply, prices have dropped and the Iberian peninsular is awash with the narcotic that keeps you up all night. DW’s Jerome Socolovsky reports from Madrid's Barajas airport, one of the key entry points for smugglers from Latin America. 

the Chinese population in France is increasingly becoming the focus of the French police when it comes to evicting illegal immigrants. According to official estimations, some 70.000 live in France. The Chinese, well many of them, do live in their own communities, and do not speak French. They work in Chinese environments. RFI's Anustup Roy finds out what the reasons. 

Look in your letterbox: Newspaper, bills, advertisements, a letter from your mother and ... a delivery of cannabis... Surprised? Maybe, but much to the dismay of customs officials in Sweden - getting drugs delivered directly into your letterbox has been a 21st Century problem. Using the Internet and the postal service is becoming an increasingly popular way of smuggling drugs into Sweden. 

The World Cup is going to be good for business in Germany. But what about the oldest trade of them all - prostitution? Sex workers are also gearing up for the championships. A lot of ladies will be coming from Poland for the event. And hot on their heels are going to be - not just football fans - but also a group of nuns. More from Radio Polonia.