28.02.24 – Cross Border Conference on Organised Crime told use of cocaine in Northern Ireland and the Republic is so rife that street value has jumped 25%. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said the use of drugs on both sides of the border has become prevalent and has led to a 25% increase in the price of cocaine in the last four months. Mr Harris was joined by his Northern Ireland counterpart, PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher, for the annual Cross Border Conference on Organised Crime in Co Cavan. Warning of the dangers posed by cross-border gangs, Mr Harris said one of the major issues faced by both police forces is how big international crime has become. He added: “The bigger challenge is the fact that we are seen to these organised crime groups as a wealthy country, an affluent place, and that is shown even in terms of the cocaine use that there is an Ireland. “Cocaine use is proportionate to the prosperity of a nation and therefore we are a target, so that’s one of the principal challenges.
28.02.24 – Full-scale action against money laundering network via Lithuanian financial institution for over EUR 2 billion. Judicial and law enforcement authorities in Italy, Latvia and Lithuania have taken concerted action against a large-scale money laundering business, centring around a Lithuanian financial institution. Since 2017, an estimated EUR 2 billion has been laundered by two main suspects via a worldwide web of shell companies. The suspects, who now have been detained, offered money laundering online as a service to criminals. A third main suspect, leading another organised crime group (OCG), was arrested in the same operation for defrauding the Italian authorities of EUR 15 million in public funds. These funds were laundered via the same web of myriad enterprises, centred around the financial institution in Lithuania.
29.02.24 – Europol supports EPPO investigation into EUR 195 million VAT fraud scheme. On 28 February, 14 individuals believed to have orchestrated a massive EUR 195 million VAT fraud, spanning across 17 countries, were arrested. The arrests are the result of an investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Munich and Cologne (Germany) with Europol’s support. Among the arrested are some of the most high-profile criminal actors, who have been on Europol’s radar in recent years, in the area of VAT fraud. Over 180 searches were carried out simultaneously in Albania, Austria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Over 680 tax and police investigators supported the investigative measures.
01.03.24 – 53 members of a criminal organisation arrested for sports corruption in Spain. Europol supported the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional) in an investigation that led to the arrest of 53 suspects in Madrid and Guadalajara, in Spain. The suspects acted as “betting mules” for a criminal organisation fixing sports events and defrauding betting houses. The operation took place from 29 January to 1 February and was also supported by Interpol and the Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria). According to Spanish authorities, the criminal network fixed football, tennis and table tennis matches in more than 20 countries, including Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia and Bolivia. The suspects sold their personal data and betting platform account details to the criminal network. With this information, the kingpins of the organisation would bet massively on predetermined results, defrauding betting houses and obtaining great economic benefits. The investigation unveiled that the criminal organisation had control of over more than 1 500 betting accounts and amassed winnings of an estimated value of EUR 2 million.
01.03.24 – Eight arrested for sexual exploitation in Belgium and Hungary. The Belgian Local Police Oostende (Lokale Politie Oostende), the Belgian Federal Police (Federale Politie/Police Fédérale) and the Hungarian National Police (Nemzeti Nyomozó Iroda), supported by Europol and Eurojust, have targeted a criminal network involved in human trafficking for sexual exploitation. The action day in mid-February led to the arrests of eight suspects in Belgium and Hungary. Officers in Belgium arrested four Belgian, one French and one Hungarian, while officers in Hungary arrested one Belgian and one Hungarian national. During the raids, authorities seized 16 high-end vehicles, luxury goods including jewellery and luxury watches, digital equipment, and mobile phones, as well as EUR 40 000 in cash. The raid in Belgium led to the identification of three potential victims. Similarly, during the operational activities in Hungary, officers identified and brought several other potential victims of this network to safety.
