04.07.23 – Syrian gang leader arrested with 14 other suspects in Spain. Europol supported the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional) in dismantling an organised criminal network smuggling migrants from Syria to the EU. Law enforcement authorities from France, Germany and Norway were also involved in the investigation. The investigation revealed that the criminal network, possibly…
27.06.23 – 43 members of Italian organised crime arrested. 43 members of the criminal network ‘Ndrangheta were arrested in the early hours of 27 June in a joint operation supported by Europol and Eurojust. Over 1 000 officers from Italian, German and Austrian law enforcement authorities cracked down on members of the Italian criminal network…
21.06.23 – Counterfeit goods worth over EUR 33 million seized. Operation Pirates 1 is a global operation to thwart smugglers of counterfeit goods such as pharmaceutical products, garments (clothes and accessories), cigarettes, cosmetics and electronic devices, toys etc. focused on physical inspections on land and sea borders. Seizures included: 810 995 counterfeit products (clothes, footwear,…
13.06.23 – Belgian police seize 5 tons of cocaine by chance in Gent. Belgian police have seized five tons of cocaine by chance in the city of Gent, local media reported on Tuesday. The operation was initially started to respond to a stolen car case in Brussels, and an investigation was launched, Flemish daily Het…
05.06.23 – New action against ‘Ndrangheta in Italy, Belgium and Germany. Eurojust and Europol have supported the competent authorities in Italy, Belgium and Germany in a new operation against international drug trafficking allegedly carried out by the ‘Ndrangheta criminal organisation. During a joint action day, thirty-one suspects were arrested and assets worth over EUR 3.8…
30.06.23 – 33 arrested as global money laundering service is shut down. This morning authorities in Italy and Spain arrested 33 suspects in a coordinated action against a globally active money laundering criminal network. The alleged perpetrators, who are of Italian, Albanian, Colombian, Moroccan, and Syrian nationality, had built up an international network of companies…
25.05.23 – 37 arrested as violent Balkan criminal cell is taken down. An international law enforcement operation coordinated by Europol has resulted in the arrest of 37 members of a highly violent criminal cell from the Western Balkans. Led by a national of Bosnia & Herzegovina, this powerful criminal cell was mainly involved in the…
15.05.23 – 31 migrant smugglers arrested in Austria. Arrests: 6 suspects (5 French, 1 Moroccan) on the action day in France; 25 French nationals arrested in Austria between August and September 2022 Modus operandi: The suspects drove all the way from France to the Serbia-Hungary border, from where they smuggled at least 255 migrants to…
09.05.23 – Money laundering and people smuggling network dismantled by the NCA. Sixteen people have been convicted following a major National Crime Agency investigation into a West London-based organised crime group involved in international money laundering and people smuggling. Members of the network smuggled in excess of £42 million in cash out of the UK,…
02.05.23 – 288 dark web vendors arrested in major marketplace seizure. In an operation coordinated by Europol and involving nine countries, law enforcement have seized the illegal dark web marketplace “Monopoly Market” and arrested 288 suspects involved in buying or selling drugs on the dark web. More than EUR 50.8 million (USD 53.4 million) in…
