29/11 Global coalition seizes 145.3 tonnes of cocaine – Colombia’s navy. Military and police authorities from more than 40 countries across Europe and the Americas confiscated 145.3 tonnes of cocaine in the eighth phase of Operation Orion, a multinational naval operation against drug trafficking, Colombia’s navy said on Monday.
29/11 12 online fraudsters arrested in global operation against counterfeiters. Operation In Our Sites also led to the seizure of €2.6 million worth of counterfeit goods and half a million euro in cash.
29/11 Interpol arrests 1,000 suspects, seizes $27m in crackdown on cybercrime. The international crime agency said that the operation, codenamed ‘HAECHI-II’, saw law enforcement from across 20 countries come together to target specific types of online fraud, such as romance scams, investment fraud, and money laundering associated with illegal online gambling.
30/11 German police have uncovered a cocaine smuggling ring transporting tons of drugs to Europe from South America. Investigators said they had arrested 14 suspects on Tuesday as part of the international operation. The gang is accused of bringing nearly five metric tons of cocaine to Germany in nine shipments from Brazil, Colombia, and several other countries. The drugs were often hidden in steel girders in ship deliveries and encased in lead to pass through X-ray security, according to the Berlin public prosecutor’s office.
01/12 Ireland seizures highlight growing role in cocaine trade. Irish authorities have made a string of significant cocaine seizures this year, amid signs the island is becoming increasingly important to European and Latin American traffickers as both a consumption market and transit point.
01/12 European money mule action leads to 1 803 arrests. Investigation reveals money mules were laundering profits from online fraud schemes such as business email compromise and Forex scams.
02/12 Colombia seizes hundreds of arachnids being illegally smuggled to Europe. Two Germans were found with 210 plastic containers they were using to carry the arachnids, which included 232 tarantula spiders, nine spider eggs and a scorpion with seven of its young, as well as 67 roaches.
02/12 Organised criminals in Africa adapt more effectively than legal entities amid Covid-19 pandemic – report. It is one of Africa’s biggest security challenges, with more than two-thirds of Africans living in countries with high criminality, and nearly 80 percent in states with acute vulnerability and low resilience. Organised crime got worse in 42 countries on the continent and improved in just 12 between 2019 and 2021.
02/12 7 Arrested in Malta on suspicion of illegal money transfers. Europol has supported the Maltese Authorities in investigating an organised crime group suspected of having laundered over €20 million through Malta. Other foreign jurisdictions were partners in the investigation. A total of 7 suspects of Libyan and Maltese origin were arrested across the Maltese islands on 29 November for their involvement in this money-laundering scheme.
