Europol

International police operation takes down one of world’s biggest botnets

Between 27 and 29 May 2024 Operation Endgame, coordinated from Europol’s headquarters, targeted droppers including, IcedID, SystemBC, Pikabot, Smokeloader, Bumblebee and Trickbot. The actions focused on disrupting criminal services through…

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International police operation, including Malta’s, bust global cyber gang accused of industrial-scale fraud

Law enforcement from 19 countries, including Malta, severely disrupted one of the world’s largest phishing-as-a-service platform, known as LabHost. This year-long operation, coordinated at the international level by Europol, resulted…

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Europol identifies major criminal groups that pose a threat to EU’s internal security

The European Union's law enforcement agency Europol on Friday published an analysis of 821 criminal groups that it says pose a major threat to the bloc's internal security. The Hague-based…

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Almost 5,000 false identity documents seized in Greece

The Aliens Division of Attica within the Hellenic Police (Ellinikí Astynomía), supported by Europol, targeted a criminal network involved in document fraud and migrant smuggling activities. The criminal network, based…

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Malta among countries who participated in Europewide police operation against depictions of child sexual abuse

Malta was one of the countries that participated in a Europol coordinated operation child sexual abuse that led to the arrest of over 50 people. The foundation of the operation…

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Coordinated European police action against one of the largest networks smuggling migrants across the English Channel

A large-scale operation involving law enforcement and judicial authorities from Belgium, France and Germany, coordinated by Europol and Eurojust, led to the dismantling of one of the most active networks…

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Arrests in France, Germany, Italy, Latvia and Malta in anti-money laundering operation

National authorities in France, Germany, Italy, Latvia and Malta have carried out over 100 searches in a large-scale operation against a Russian-Eurasian criminal network and a Maltese-based financial institution allegedly…

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Lockbit cybercrime gang faces global takedown with indictments and arrests

An international law enforcement operation led by Britain's National Crime Agency and the FBI has arrested and indicted members of the Lockbit ransomware gang, in an unprecedented police operation that…

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Properties worth EUR 48 million frozen after cocaine sweep in Ecuador and Spain

A Spanish-led investigation involving Ecuador and supported by Europol, resulted in a major hit on a high-risk drug trafficking network supplying cocaine to the EU. To support the field activities…

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Malta participates in intercontinental crackdown against Nigerian crime syndicates

Europol on Friday revealed that between 7 and 9 December 2023, Europol coordinated a massive international operation targeting Nigerian criminal networks active in the EU and abroad. 16 partners from…

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Europe-wide police operation against criminal network behind shock calls terrifying elderly across Europe

In a coordinated action which ran between 27 November and 8 December, law enforcement and judicial authorities from five countries joined forces to take down a criminal network suspected of…

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EU Most Wanted drug trafficker arrested in Bosnia

Law enforcement authorities from Bosnia and Herzegovina, supported by Europol, have arrested a fugitive featured on the EU Most Wanted list. The suspect, who held nationalities from Bosnia and Herzegovina…

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Europol’s Operation OPSON breaks up a counterfeit olive oil ring

In the framework of Operation OPSON, Europol’s coordinated effort to combat food fraud and counterfeiting, Europol has supported a spin-off investigation into counterfeit olive oil. The operation was initiated by…

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Joint European police operation dismantles international phone scam network

Law enforcement from Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom, supported by Europol, have tracked down and arrested the head of a criminal network responsible for defrauding hundreds of elderly citizens.…

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Encrypted phone service ‘Encrochat’ shutdown leads to 6,500 arrests – Europol

European policing agency Europol said on Tuesday that the takedown of Encrochat, an underground company that offered criminals supposedly secure encrypted communications, led to more than 6,500 arrests and 900…

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Roman marble bust among 11,000 stolen artefacts recovered in European crackdown

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A crackdown on international art trafficking has recovered 11,049 stolen artefacts, including ancient coins and books and a marble bust believed to represent the niece of a…

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Criminal network transporting drugs via trucks between Spain and Sweden broken up

Joint actions of the Spanish National Police (Policia National) and the Swedish National Police (Polisen), supported by Europol, have led to the dismantling of a criminal network transporting drugs via…

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Europe’s biggest Chinese prostitution ring dismantled

An unprecedented law enforcement operation involving different countries has resulted in the dismantlement of an international sex-trafficking ring that held hundreds of Chinese women trapped in debt bondage across Europe. …

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‘Magnitsky’ dirty Russian money laundering suspect arrested in Spain – Europol

PARIS, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Spanish authorities have taken action against a criminal gang suspected of laundering dirty money linked to the Magnitsky case, a 219 million euros ($233 million)…

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Police bring down European cocaine “super cartel”

European policing agency Europol said on Monday it had helped co-ordinate the takedown of a cartel managed from the United Arab Emirates believed to control up to a third of…

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142 arrests in police action against criminal website that offered ‘spoofing’ services to fraudsters

Judicial and law enforcement authorities in Europe, Australia, the United States, Ukraine, and Canada have taken down a website that allowed fraudsters to impersonate trusted corporations or contacts to access…

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Polish police step up the pressure against online child sexual exploitation

The Polish Central Cybercrime Bureau (Centralne Biuro Zwalczania Cyberprzestępczości), supported by Europol, targeted child sexual abuse through the setting-up of a special team of police officers in August. The officers,…

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Joint action by European police against traffickers using the Balkan route

Europol revealed that law enforcement authorities jointly targeted firearms trafficking, drugs trafficking, migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings during coordinated EMPACT Joint Action Days between 26 and 29 October.…

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Spanish police dismantle Europe’s largest drug ‘bank’

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish police have dismantled a criminal gang they believe was the largest financier of drug trafficking in Europe. The gang, which operated out of a restaurant in…

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Big international police operation smashes gang ‘behind quarter of Channel migrant arrivals in UK’

Concerted work on several national law enforcement investigations across the EU has led to the dismantling of one of the most active criminal networks smuggling migrants across the English Channel…

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Spanish operation takes down police and customs officers helping ship cocaine and hashish into Europe

With the support of Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre, the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) and National Police (Policía Nacional) have dismantled a drugs trafficking network which allegedly…

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Smuggling network up in smoke: Seven arrested in Spain

Moroccan and Malian nationals apprehended after using former tobacco smuggling routes to facilitate illegal immigration between Spain and France A joint investigation by Spain’s Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) and the…

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Spanish police arrests 5 people on suspicion of terrorist attack

With the active support of Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre, the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional) has arrested in Barcelona and Madrid five suspected members of an Islamic State cell. The…

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Labour in vineyards and farms checked across Europe

Between 09 and 16 September 2021, Europol supported Europe-wide coordinated action days against human trafficking for labour exploitation in the agricultural sector. The operation, led by France, involved a wide…

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Netherlands, Belgium supplant Spain as main gateways into Europe for cocaine

Belgium and the Netherlands have become the main hubs for cocaine trafficking to Europe, supplanting Spain as the main route of entry into European countries, Europol said. The report from…

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23 charged over Covid-19 business email compromise fraud

A sophisticated fraud scheme using compromised emails and advance-payment fraud has been uncovered by authorities in Romania, the Netherlands and Ireland as part of an action coordinated by Europol. On…

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18 arrested for smuggling more than 490 migrants across the Balkan route

Officers from the Romanian Police (Poliția Română) and Border Police (Poliția de Frontieră Română), supported by Europol, dismantled an organised crime group involved in migrant smuggling across the so-called Balkan…

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18 arrests in Europol sting against migrant smugglers

An investigation led by the Spanish National Police, with close cooperation with the Albanian Police and law enforcement and immigration authorities in Austria, France, Italy, Slovenia, Kosovo, Portugal, the United…

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Nine arrested in Moldova and France for €2 million immigration fraud

In the early hours of 28 June, some hundred officers from the French National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale) and the Moldovan Border Police (Poliția de Frontieră a Republicii Moldova) with the…

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“DoubleVPN” service used by hackers seized and shut down

Europol, the European police coordinating agency, said on Wednesday that police in Europe, the United States and Canada had seized the domains and servers of "DoubleVPN", a network used by…

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Six arrested for armed robberies of jewellery shops across Europe

An organised crime group behind a sting of violent armed robberies committed across Europe has been dismantled as a result of an international investigation facilitated by Europol. A total of…

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Drugs, weapons, cars and cash: Operation Greenlight/Trojan Shield, the global crime bust in figures

Global law enforcement agencies have busted an international crime network by monitoring encrypted phones used by criminals, leading to hundreds of arrests as well as drug and weapon seizures across…

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Over 800 persons detained global crackdown on organised hi-tech crime

Global law enforcement agencies hacked into an app used by criminals and read millions of encrypted messages, leading to hundreds of arrests of organised crime figures in 18 countries, officials…

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Three arrested for smuggling over 250 Vietnamese migrants to Germany

In the early hours of 31 May, some 740 police officers carried out coordinated raids across Germany and Slovakia against the members of a criminal syndicate smuggling Vietnamese nationals into…

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Hit against Euro counterfeiters linked to the Camorra

On 20 May 2021, Europol supported the German Regional Criminal Police of Nordrhein-Westfalen (Landeskriminalamt Nordrhein-Westfalen) and the Italian Finance Corps (Guardia di Finanza) of Rome and Naples in dismantling an…

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UPDATED: German police make arrests over massive child pornography website

German police have uncovered one of the world’s largest underground websites for child pornography with more than 400,000 users and arrested four people connected to the platform, prosecutors said on…

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Europe’s police crack down on cross-border crime groups

More than 200 people were arrested last week in 17 European countries in a coordinated crackdown on cross-border movements of stolen goods, illegal drugs and cash, the European police agency…

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WADA and Europol enter into agreement to for cooperation in sports doping

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement (Europol). WADA said the agreement will formally establish and facilitate…

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UPDATED: 10 held in Europol coordinated operation for alleged $100m cryptocurrency theft

Europol, the European police agency, announced it had assisted in the arrest of 10 hackers suspected of stealing $100 million in cryptocurrency in “SIM-swapping” attacks that allowed suspects to gain…

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Cybercriminals’ favourite VPN taken down in global action

The virtual private network (VPN) Safe-Inet used by the world’s foremost cybercriminals has been taken down over the Christmas period in a coordinated law enforcement action led by the German…

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Malta: Europol experts cross-examined by Yorgen Fenech’s lawyers

Europol data extraction experts are facing questions from lawyers defending Yorgen Fenech on Wednesday, as the compilation of evidence against him continues. Fenech stands accused of complicity in the murder…

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Malta: Yorgen Fenech’s data takes centre stage in Daphne case

Europol experts are testifying on Monday about emails, texts and audio messages extracted from devices linked to Yorgen Fenech. Experts from the EU law enforcement agency have spent months extracting…

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Malta: Individual raided in connection to IPTV crackdown

Police seized IPTV equipment from an individual following searches made in three different properties belonging to the same individual last week. A police spokesperson explained that on 10 November, the…

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Turkish firearms seized in international sweep against illegal trafficking of weapons

A total of 24 European countries - Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Rep, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal,…

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Large group involved in arms trafficking in the Mediterranean dismantled

An investigation that involved the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional), Mossos d’Esquadra and the Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria) and supported by Europol, led to the dismantling of a large…

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Nearly 400 arrested across Europe in anti-child trafficking operation

Europol revealed that it coordinated a Europe-wide operation with Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom targeting child trafficking. The operation, also supported by Frontex, took place between 5 and 11…

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Europol led dark web drugs raid leads to 179 arrests

Police forces around the world have seized more than $6.5m in cash and virtual currencies, as well as drugs and guns in a coordinated raid on dark web marketplaces. Some…

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Original stolen books from Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton found in Romania

During a house search led by the Romanian authorities in the county of Neamt several rare books buried underground were discovered. The books were reported stolen from a warehouse in…

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Dismantling of an encrypted network sends shockwaves through organised crime groups across Europe

Europol and Eurojust have supported the French and Dutch law enforcement authorities in a joint effort to dismantle EncroChat, an encrypted phone network widely used by criminal networks. Over the…

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Malta: Police investigate 17 Black-Montenegro deal ‘in collaboration with Europol’

Police are working with Europol to investigate revelations that Yorgen Fenech’s company 17 Black made millions through an Enemalta wind farm deal in Montenegro. In a brief statement issued on…

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Major European operation against fraud gang based in Bulgaria and Serbia

A large criminal network involved in fraud, money laundering and social engineering was dismantled in an international investigation. Europol and Eurojust supported the investigation which involved law enforcement and judicial…

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Europol warns against coronavirus scams

The European police authority has warned that con artists are preying on fears of illness by offering fake masks, medicine, COVID-19 tests and even vaccines. Across Europe, many companies and…

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