10.10.24 – Europol supports Latvia in dismantling major synthetic drug lab network. The Latvian State Police (Valsts policija) in collaboration with Europol, has successfully dismantled a large-scale clandestine laboratory involved in the production of synthetic drugs across the European Union. The illegal laboratory was a key site for synthetic drug production in Europe, highlighted by its repeat appearance in multiple investigations across Europe. Europol worked closely with Latvian partners to identify and track the criminal network responsible for the production and distribution of synthetic substances, including synthetic cathinones and other high-risk drugs.
10.10.24 – Greece creates ‘FBI-style’ organised crime unit amid mob murder spree. Greece has created an “FBI-style” police unit to combat organised crime after a raft of gangland killings, its police minister said this week. The “new service” was launched to fight activity including “organised crime, drugs, human trafficking, blackmail and smuggling”, police minister Michalis Chrysochoidis told state radio Proto Programma on Tuesday. “Greek society needs it to fight against a form of violence… that rakes huge economic sums”, he said. The new unit of about 1,000 officers – dubbed “the Greek FBI” by Chrysochoidis in July – has absorbed several directorates including the economic crimes, narcotics, human trafficking, hooliganism and organised crime squads.
08.10.24 – Five deny trafficking charges after police raids recover 14 kilograms of drugs at several properties. Five people have been charged after a coordinated Drugs Squad operation led to the seizure of 7kg of cocaine and 7kg of cannabis from a number of properties. 36-year-old taxi driver Nikola Vujakovic, from Serbia, 37-year-old self-employed businessman Salvatore Rogazione from Sicily, 34-year-old Aleksandar Vujakovic from Croatia, cleaner Sara Lerinc, 22, from Serbia, residing in Zabbar and Goran Davkovski, a 54-year-old man from North Macedonia, appeared in the dock before magistrate Nadine Sant Lia on Tuesday, charged with drug trafficking and money laundering offences.
07.10.24 – Telegram hosts ‘underground markets’ for Southeast Asian crime gangs, UN says. Powerful criminal networks in Southeast Asia extensively use the messaging app Telegram which has enabled a fundamental change in the way organised crime can conduct large-scale illicit activity, the United Nations said in a report on Monday. The report represents the latest allegations to be levied against the controversial encrypted app since France, using a tough new law with no international equivalent, charged its boss Pavel Durov for allowing criminal activity on the platform.
07.10.24 – EMPACT Hackathon: 16 suspected human traffickers and 60 potential victims identified. Between 17 and 20 September in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, 76 experts from 27 countries joined forces to monitor, detect and investigate leads on human trafficking activities enabled by the internet. Online-enabled human trafficking is a growing threat that transcends borders. While the surface web remains a key tool for human traffickers, the complexity of identifying exploitation indicators online presents significant challenges. Europol and its partners are using international cooperation and technological expertise to counter these threats, working to protect vulnerable individuals and dismantle criminal networks. This joint action aimed to identify key indicators of human trafficking on online platforms, explore how legal business structures may be misused by traffickers and advance new criminal investigations.
