adminTHE Polish mafia is turning the UK into a hotbed of mob violence as scores of dangerous gangsters flood there — to escape justice back home. Detectives say an alarming number of die-hard criminals have fled to soft-touch Britain, taking advantage of their lax border controls. Murderers, drug dealers, and kidnappers are among more than 3,000 fugitives who have escaped prosecution by hiding in the UK Polish communities. Warsaw’s top cop recently launched an appeal to help them find the vile suspects. Detectives handed over their dossier on the thousands they believe have fled there — including their top ten “Polands Most Wanted” men.
The list includes a mafia godfather, fraudsters, rapists, murderers, drug dealers, and heavily armed gangsters charged with a string of crimes back home. The police are so concerned about the rise of the Polish mafia in Britain that they recently established an office in the former communist bloc country to help stem the tide of organized criminals. And Home Secretary Theresa May has admitted that around one in four serious offenders in Britain now hails from overseas.
Lieutenant Grzegorz Prusak, Head of Fugitives at Warsaw Police HQ, said: “There are a lot of Polish fugitives in the UK. “They are organized gangs involved in protection rackets, extortion, financial crime, drugs, murder, stealing, guns, and other dangerous weapons. No doubt about it, Polish organized crime is a big problem for the British.” Experts believe the Polish mafia is made up of 400 gangs totaling 2,000 hardcore members, although the syndicate has recently splintered into smaller groups in a bid to outwit the police.
Armed and dangerous
1. JANUSZ “THE GRANDPA” GRAF, 57. Polish mafia godfather accused of corruption, contract killing, and kidnapping. He specializes in luring politicians and businessmen into deals and then leans on them with extreme violence. Allied to a powerful Turkish crime syndicate, he is accused of arranging the murder of Warsaw stock trader Piotr Glowla and abducting a property developer and his son to settle a deal.
2. SEBASTIAN BANASINSKI, 36. Notched up 19 outstanding arrest warrants for online fraud and theft. Sentenced to eight years in jail. Scams include bogus internet auctions which traded in masses of non-existent furniture that left thousands of victims out of pocket.
3. GRZEGORZ WIERZBICKI, 32. Mafia drug dealer who fled to the UK after being sentenced to two years for spearheading a 16-strong car-ringing gang that stole 60 luxury motors. He escaped to London before Polish police could put him behind bars.
4. DANIEL JANECZEK, 24. Serial armed robber, drug dealer, and bank scammer. One victim was hit over the head and kicked repeatedly for a mobile phone, a camera, and some money. Also accused of attempted extortion.
5. JANUSZ FLASZA, 33. Armed football hooligan wanted for murder.
6. KRZYSZTOF RYBA, 29. Armed football hooligan wanted for murder.
7. KRYSTIAN TOMASZEWSKI, 28. Armed football hooligan wanted for murder.
8. WOJCIECH LACHTAJ, 20. Another armed football hooligan wanted for murder. He, Flasza, Ryba, and Tomaszewski were part of the Wisla Krakow Ultras gang that beat a rival fan to death with knives, machetes and brass knuckle-dusters in 2011. Alleged now to be involved in racketeering in London.
9. DARIUSZ HANUSIAK, 28. Wanted over a vicious fatal stabbing. Police say he has links to Southend-on-Sea, Essex.
10. DARIUSZ GLOWACKI, 34. Wanted for the rape and sexual assault of a girl under 18. He is being hunted by Metropolitan Police detectives in Operation Sunfire, an initiative to trace 14 fugitives from around the world.
