25.04.23 – 90 victims of sexual exploitation identified. An operation involving Czech, Finnish and Hungarian authorities, and coordinated by Europol and Eurojust, has led to the identification of more than 90 victims of sexual exploitation. 13 members of a criminal network are under suspicion of recruiting – primarily Czech – victims and transporting them to Finland and other Scandinavian countries for sexual exploitation. Czech members of the criminal network, which is believed to have earned at least EUR 3.3 million, acted as coordinators and offered the victims’ services on websites. Perpetrators could book the victims in advance, while rotation systems – also known as ‘sex tours’ or ‘carousels’ – allowed for the exploited victims to be offered in various locations. The investigation concerning the results of this operation is still ongoing, as more than 400 victims of Czech, Hungarian and Romanian nationality were counted in total.
26.04.23 – Money laundering cash couriers smuggled £100 million in suitcases. The National Crime Agency has dismantled a network of criminal cash couriers that laundered more than £100m by smuggling it out of the UK to Dubai in the UAE. Eleven of the couriers have now been convicted, following yesterday’s guilty verdicts returned in the trial of Beatrice Auty, 26, from London; Jonathan Johnson, 55, and Jo Emma Larvin, 44, both from Ripon in North Yorkshire, and Amy Harrison, 27, from Worcester Park in Surrey, at Isleworth Crown Court.
26.04.23 – Afghan Gang Jailed in France for Smuggling Illegal Immigrants to UK in Small Boats. The ringleaders of an Afghan organised crime group have been convicted and jailed in France for smuggling illegal immigrants through the English Channel to the UK in small boats. A total of nine men, all Afghan nationals, were convicted of immigration and organised crime offences on April 21 following a trial in Paris, according to Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
28.04.23 – ‘Ndrangheta mafia: Alleged crime boss Pasquale Bonavota arrested in Italian cathedral. An alleged boss of one of Italy’s biggest mafia syndicates has been arrested by police at a cathedral in the northern city of Genoa. Pasquale Bonavota has been wanted by police since 2018 after fleeing an arrest warrant for murder and mafia association. Police say the 49-year-old is part of the notorious ‘Ndrangheta mafia. It is Italy’s most powerful mafia group and is said to control the bulk of Europe’s cocaine supplies.
29.04.23 – From Olympics to organised crime: Russian swimmer, ex-cop held in Goa drug cartel bust. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) busted a Russian drug cartel in Goa and arrested two Russians – a 1980 Olympic silver medal-winning woman swimmer and a former police officer – along with an Indian on Saturday.
