20.02.23 – Traffickers smuggling tobacco from Belarus busted in Poland. Europol supported the Polish Border Guard (Straż Graniczna), the Police Central Bureau of Investigation (Centralne Biuro Śledcze Policji) and the National Revenue Administration (Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa) in disrupting tobacco smugglers and seizing large amounts of cash and valuables. The criminals were initially under investigation for drug trafficking in the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. Intelligence provided to the investigators by Europol revealed that the suspects were trafficking large quantities of tobacco products from Belarus to Poland. The proceeds of these criminal activities were laundered through cash conversion methods, property investments, the purchase of expensive luxury goods and the use of cryptocurrencies.
21.02.23 – Romanian court rules to hold Andrew Tate for 30 more days. A court in Romania’s capital agreed Tuesday to extend social media influencer Andrew Tate’s detention on suspicion of organized crime and human trafficking by another 30 days, an official said. Tate, 36, a British-U.S. citizen known for misogynistic views who has 5.1 million Twitter followers, was arrested Dec. 29 when authorities descended on his property north of Bucharest. His brother, Tristan, and two Romanian women also are in custody in the same case. None of the four has been formally charged.
22.02.23 – NCA investigation brings down UK arm of Vietnamese people smuggling network. A key figure in a major people smuggling network bringing Vietnamese migrants to the UK in the backs of lorries has been jailed, following a National Crime Agency investigation. Phone evidence produced by the NCA showed that Le was the UK lynchpin of a wider global network of people smugglers, transporting people illegally from Vietnam to the UK.
23.02.23 – 20 suspected money launderers and drug traffickers arrested. A joint investigation supported by Europol has led to the arrest of 20 suspected money launderers and drug traffickers. The operation was led by the Spanish Guardia Civil, with support from the Italian Central Directorate for Anti-Drugs Services (Direzione Centrale Servizi Antidroga), and resulted in the seizure of more than EUR 5.5 million in criminal assets and over 2 tons of drugs. Based in the South of Spain, the criminal network was composed of Albanian, Italian, Spanish and Moroccan nationals, and was led by Italian nationals who evaded capture using forged identity documents.
24.02.23 – Venezuelan Migrants Remain Easy Prey for Organized Crime. A new report has highlighted how organized crime groups are preying on Venezuelan migrants, turning the region’s biggest displacement crisis into a lucrative criminal opportunity. More than 7 million Venezuelans have been displaced from their country in the wake of a long-term economic crisis that was worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic
