Europol

Over 10 persons arrested for buying counterfeit euros on the Darknet

Between 9 and 11 December 2019 Europol coordinated joint raids against the sale of counterfeit euro banknotes on illegal platforms on the Darknet. Law enforcement authorities from seven EU Member…

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Europe wide operation smashes WhatsApp groups that created and exchanged child abuse material

A successful operation in encrypted chat groups has been carried out by Policia Nacional of Spain. The investigation, begun in 2017 and led by the Central High Tech Crime Unit,…

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International crackdown on RAT spyware which takes total control of victims’ PCs

A hacking tool that was able to give full remote control of a victim’s computer to cybercriminals has been taken down as a result of an international law enforcement operation…

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Over 70 arrested in worldwide crackdown on airline fraud

Between 18 – 22 November 2019, 60 countries, 56 airlines and 12 online travel agencies were involved in the 12th edition of the Global Airline Action Days (GAAD), an international…

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Over 20 arrests and around 10 000 cultural items seized in an operation targeting Italian archaeological trafficking

On 18 November 2019, an international police operation involving over 350 police officers, supported by Europol (within the framework of EMPACT) and Eurojust, dismantled an international organised crime group involved…

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Conditional Presidential pardon recommended for man claiming to be ‘middleman’ in Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has signed a letter that assures a presidential pardon to a man who claims to know the mastermind behind Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder plot, once evidence…

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15 arrested in joint police operation against human trafficking gang in Lithuania and Spain

The Lithuanian Police and the Spanish National Police supported by Europol and Eurojust, have dismantled a large organised crime group involved in human trafficking for sexual exploitation. The criminal group,…

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Eurojust and Europol work leads to arrests in a major drug trafficking network

In a joint action day last week, with the support of Eurojust and Europol, 19 alleged heads of an organised crime group suspected of large-scale drug trafficking from Ivory Coast…

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International police action against Belarussian organised crime group involved in international cargo thefts

The German Police Department Heidekreis, in cooperation with the French Gendarmerie and Czech authorities, the German State Criminal Police Office of Saxony-Anhalt, EMPACT OPC, and Europol dismantled a Belarussian organised…

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Over 300 potential victims of labour exploitation in the agricultural sector identified in pan-European action

Between 16 and 20 September 2019, Europol supported the first Europe-wide Joint Action Days against human trafficking for labour exploitation focusing specifically on the agricultural sector. The operation, led by…

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Over half a tonne of cocaine found in boat travelling from Brazil to Europe

Operation 26Kearney, led by the Spanish authorities, National Police (Policía Nacional), Civil Guard (Guardia Civil), and the Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria) has seen the arrest of five individuals and…

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Four tonnes of cocaine and €2 million in cash seized by Spanish authorities

A joint investigation, coordinated by Spain and involving law enforcement authorities from Colombia, France, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom and supported by Europol, led to the dismantling of…

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66 suspected of arranging illegal adoptions and surrogacies, and human egg trafficking in Greece

Greek law enforcement authorities, supported by Europol, dismantled an organised crime group involved in the trafficking of human beings (selling ova), illegal adoption and money laundering. Active since 2016, the…

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29 arrests in France and Spain in a migrant smuggling case

The Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional) and the French National Police (Police Nationale), supported by Europol, dismantled a large poly-criminal network involved in migrant smuggling, trafficking of human beings and…

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Europe’s second-largest counterfeit currency network on the dark web taken down in Portugal

The Portuguese Judicial Police (Polícia Judiciária) dismantled Europe’s second-largest counterfeit currency network on the dark web with Europol’s support. Five individuals have been arrested and are accused of counterfeiting and…

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13 arrested in Lithuania in €1 million car parts theft ring

An organised crime network originating from Lithuania and specialised in the theft of car parts has been dismantled this week by the German Police of Heilbronn, together with the support…

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70 arrests in pan-European action against child trafficking

Europol supported a pan-European operation against trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation, forced begging and labour exploitation. The operation, led by the United Kingdom, involved law enforcement authorities from 16…

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40 arrested in Spain and France for international vehicle theft and trafficking

Europol has supported the Spanish Guardia Civil and the French Gendarmerie Nationale to dismantle an organised crime group involved in the stealing of vehicles. 40 individuals were arrested in connection…

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Suspect arrested in Greece for large-scale document forgery

With the support of Europol, a 50-year old individual was arrested in Greece for large-scale forgery of documents and facilitating illegal immigration. During the action day on 11 July, the…

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Over 18 000 items seized and 59 arrests made in Europe-wide operation targeting cultural goods

Customs and other law enforcement authorities from 29 countries, coordinated by the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) and supported by Europol, INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization (WCO), have joined…

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Huge international police operation against Balkan cartel trafficking cocaine around the globe

Law enforcement agencies from across the globe teamed up against a Balkan organised criminal network suspected of large-scale cocaine trafficking from South America to Europe using private planes. The…

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People smuggling network busted in Greece

The Greek Police, supported by Europol, dismantled an organised criminal group (OCG) smuggling migrants from Turkey to Greece and facilitating their secondary movements to other EU Member States. The network…

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New task force at Europol to target the most dangerous criminal groups involved in human trafficking and migrant smuggling

On 2 July, the Joint Liaison Task Force Migrant Smuggling and Trafficking in Human Beings (JLT-MS) was launched at Europol. This new operational platform will allow liaison officers from all…

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1,056 individuals were arrested in the EU in 2018 on suspicion of terrorism-related offences – Europol

Thirteen people lost their lives as a result of terrorist attacks in the EU in 2018. All the attacks were jihadist in nature and committed by individuals acting alone, targeting…

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EU TE-SAT Report: Terrorism in the EU became more complex in 2018

In 2018, terrorism continued to represent a major security threat in EU Member States. Horrific attacks killed thirteen people and injured many more. A stark increase in the number…

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Huge operation in Denmark against crime group from the Western Balkans

The Copenhagen Special Investigation Unit of the Danish Police (Dansk Politi), arrested 31 individuals of a large, poly-criminal organisation, which smuggled, sold and distributed firearms and drugs throughout the EU. They…

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Arrests in the UK and Netherlands in €24 million cryptocurrency theft

The UK’s South West Regional Cyber Crime Unit (SW RCCU) in a joint operation with the Dutch police (Politie), Europol, Eurojust and the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has arrested…

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13 arrested for sexual exploitation of young women in French-Romanian operation

A large-scale joint investigation, led by the French Gendarmerie Nationale in cooperation with the Romanian DIICOT (Directorate for the Investigation of Organised Crime and Terrorism), and supported by Europol and…

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Bulgarian Cybercrime Department in action against IPTV criminal network

Under the supervision of the Bulgarian Supreme Prosecutor’s Office of Cassation, police officers from the Bulgarian Cybercrime Department from the General Directorate Combating Organized Crime of the Ministry of Interior…

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Cryptocurrency experts meet at Europol to strengthen ties between law enforcement and private sector

Over 300 cryptocurrency experts from both law enforcement and the private sector attended the sixth Cryptocurrency Conference hosted at Europol’s headquarters from 12 to 14 June 2019. The event, organised…

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New threat assessment confirms links between counterfeiting and organised crime in the EU

Most criminal activity involving counterfeiting is carried out by increasingly professionalised organised crime networks, which can reap large profits while running relatively few risks. That is according to the…

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Big police operation in Portugal against human trafficking for sexual exploitation

The Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service (Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras), supported by Europol, arrested eight suspected members of an international organised criminal group trafficking human beings for sexual…

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Global action against wildlife crime saves 4 400 reptiles from criminal hands

An international operation against the illegal trade in reptiles has seen hundreds of seizures and 12 arrests in the EU. Europol coordinated information sharing between EU members States which…

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Arrests in France for looting the archives of libraries throughout Europe

With the support of Europol, the French National Police (OCBC - National Unit in charge of Cultural goods trafficking) and the Spanish Guardia Civil (UCO) have dismantled an organised…

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Operation coordinated by Europol against crime gang committing robberies across Europe with stolen vehicles

The Italian Carabinieri (Arma dei Carabinieri), supported by the Munich Police Department, the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police (Inspectoratul General al Poliţiei Române) and…

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Multi-million euro cryptocurrency laundering service Bestmixer.io taken down

The Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), in close cooperation with Europol and the authorities in Luxembourg, clamped down on one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency mixing service…

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Spanish Civil Guard uncover unusual vehicle tax avoidance scheme

The Spanish Civil Guard, supported by Europol, have uncovered an unusual vehicle tax avoidance scheme and that resulted in the arrest of 20 individuals and the seizure of 11 vehicles.…

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Europe-wide operation against drug trafficking

Europol, the European police agency, coordinated a Europe-wide operation against a drug smuggling gang in which 22 persons have been arrested across Europe in a coordinated operation, code-named ‘Icebreaker’,.…

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International cyber-crime gang which stole millions dismantled

Europol revealed that an international crime gang which used malware to steal $100m from more than 40,000 victims has been dismantled. It said that the investigation was unprecedented, especially in…

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Europol : 68 innocent victims lost their lives as a result of terrorist attacks in the EU in 2017

Europol: In 2017, 68 innocent victims lost their lives as a result of terrorist attacks in the European Union (EU) – reason enough for Europol not to reduce its efforts in…

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