20.01.25 – EUR 2.7 million seized in European operation against money laundering and cash smuggling. From 12 to 24 November, Europol supported Customs authorities from 23 EU Member States in a large operation against money laundering, transnational criminal activities and terrorism financing. The operation resulted in over 500 cash movement checks and the subsequent detection of illicit cash flows of almost EUR 2.7 million in cash. This amount is likely to increase in the upcoming months as many discoveries are currently being prosecuted. In addition to cash, authorities also seized valuable items such as gold and jewellery, including 18 gold bars with a value exceeding EUR 1,7 million.
19.01.25 – 30 tonnes of illegally-fished, contaminated molluscs seized ahead of Christmas. Law enforcement authorities from France, Portugal and Spain, supported by Europol, have arrested 62 members of multiple organised criminal groups involved in the illegal fishing of contaminated molluscs in Portugal and Spain. The 17 action days also resulted in the seizure of 30 tonnes of molluscs and 6 tonnes of glass eels worth up to EUR 10 million on the seafood market. Six of the suspects are considered High Value Targets by authorities.
18.01.25 – 9 drug traffickers arrested and EUR 27 million in cryptocurrencies seized. Europol has supported law enforcement authorities from six countries in taking down underground bankers who were moving and laundering the proceeds of large-scale drug trafficking and other serious crimes. Building on the findings from two major investigations, Operation GORGON and Operation WHITEWALL, this follow-up operation involved close collaboration between Europol’s experts in serious and organised crime and in financial investigations. It led to the arrest of nine suspects and the seizure of evidence (documents, mobile phones), valuables (gold, luxury goods), EUR 35 000 in cash and EUR 27 million in cryptocurrencies.
16.01.25 – Latvian authorities dismantle massive illegal cigarette factory. Last week, the Latvian State Police (Valsts policija), in cooperation with the Latvian State Border Guard (Valsts robežsardze), carried out a large-scale operation to dismantle a criminal network involved in illegal tobacco production. Officers discovered a massive illegal cigarette manufacturing site, which was fully equipped with production machinery and raw materials. The operation led to the detention of 32 people and the seizure of nearly 300 million cigarettes and approximately 47 tonnes of shredded tobacco leaves. If these cigarettes had entered the Latvian market, the estimated financial loss to the state would have exceeded EUR 75 million.
15.01.25 – Man pleads guilty in string of MS-13 killings that stunned New York suburbs. A man who helped lead an MS-13 clique in New York pleaded guilty Tuesday in a federal racketeering case involving seven murders, including the 2016 killings of two high school girls that focused the nation’s attention on the violent Central American street gang. Jairo Saenz, 28, entered the plea in federal court in Central Islip in a hearing attended by members of his family and some of the victims’ families.
13.01.25 – 796 arrests in massive EU action against organised crime. Law enforcement authorities from all across the continent came together for the EMPACT Joint Action Days South East Europe (JAD SEE) 2024. From a coordination centre set up in Sarajevo, colleagues from 26 countries took decisive action against key criminal threats in the region. The JAD SEE 2024 saw the joint capacities and resources of the European Union and its international partners target multiple criminal threats, including trafficking in human beings, migrant smuggling, drug and illegal firearms trafficking, and the fight against high-risk criminal networks. 796 individuals were arrested, 316 investigations initiated and 442 weapons seized as a result of the massive operation, which involved 31 109 officers.
