20.12.23 – Why Have Ecuador’s Drug Trafficking Gangs Turned to Extortion? The number of extortion cases recorded in Ecuador has skyrocketed over the past year, suggesting that the country’s fragmenting criminal gangs are seeking new sources of income. Extortion in Ecuador rose by more than 65% between 2022 and November 2023 and by almost 400% since 2021, according to data that Ecuadorian police shared with InSight Crime. The rise in cases has been accompanied by incidents of often brutal and indiscriminate violence. In one of the most recent examples, members of an unnamed criminal group launched a grenade at a school in the port city of Guayaquil at the start of December. It was the second violent attack against the school since it received a $10,000 extortion demand in October.
22.12.23 – Action against digital skimming reveals 443 compromised online merchants. Europol, law enforcement authorities from 17 countries and the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) have joined forces with the private sector partners, including Group-IB and Sansec, to fight digital skimming attacks. With the support of national Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRT), the two-month action has enabled Europol and its partners to notify 443 online merchants that their customers’ credit card or payment card data had been compromised. This action, led by Greece, falls under the EMPACT priority, which targets the criminals behind online fraud schemes.
22.12.23 – Major bust of a notorious narcotics clan in Spain and Portugal. Europol has supported the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) and the Portuguese Judicial Police (Policia Judiciaria) in a hit against suspected members of a notorious criminal gang known to be involved in drug trafficking in the Galicia region of Spain since the 1980s. This international investigation was also supported by Eurojust. The action day on 18 December 2023 resulted in the arrests of 9 Spanish nationals, 12 house searches in Spain and 1 in Portugal. The arrested individuals are suspected of being involved in drug trafficking operations in the Spanish cities of Pontevedra, Ourense, A Coruña and the Portuguese city of Monção. During earlier actions for this operation, law enforcement authorities seized more than two tonnes of cocaine and various documents, which served as evidence in the investigation.
05.01.24 – Lorry driver jailed after NCA investigation. A Lithuanian lorry driver has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after attempting to import cocaine worth £4.8 million into the UK. Rimas Ekleris, aged 59, had 60kg of the drug hidden in his cab unit when he arrived at Immingham Dock on 19 August 2022, having travelled from Cuxhaven in Germany. Acting on intelligence provided by the National Crime Agency, Border Force officers searched the vehicle and discovered the cocaine in a purpose-built concealment beneath the floor.
06.02.24 – Major Walsall-based drugs gang jailed for more than 86 years as police seize millions in cash, cocaine and ketamine. Led by 37-year-old James Ross, the organised crime group transported cocaine, ketamine and cash in vehicles with professionally installed concealed compartments in floors and seats. Ross was previously convicted of drug offences in April 2021, which he served a nine-month prison sentence for. Whilst he was behind bars, officers from the West Midlands Police Regional Organised Crime Unit turned their attention on his second-in-command, 42-year-old Steed Webster.
