1.   Across Europe, Russian gangs are involved in drug trafficking, weapons sales, computer fraud, car theft, prostitution and scores of other crimes.

2.   But the Russian gangs now flourishing in the West are different.

3.   Italian prosecutors have found that Russian gangs operating out of Northern Italy, for example, used Benex to transfer several million dollars out of Russia.

4.   Russian gangs have also threatened a number of Russian and Western businessmen, seeking protection money or partnerships.

5.   The Hungarian government has requested help from the United States in breaking up the Russian gangs that operate from Budapest.

6.   The Russian gangs are aided by a weak central government, poor legal foundations for prosecuting economic crimes and poorly paid police.

7.   There is also concern that Russian gangs, which have infiltrated all levels of government in the former Soviet Union, will operate in the same manner in Poland.

8.   Though the indictment reflects the rise of Russian criminal gangs, officials cautioned that these groups are often more loosely structured than the Italian Mafia.

9.   Western European and Russian gangs are also establishing themselves here, Polish law enforcement officials say.

10.   Police have linked at least one previous shooting in Limassol to Russian criminal gangs demanding protection money from fellow Russians.