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Source: Europol
Initial investigations against the OCG were launched in 2019 by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO) of Florence – District Antimafia Directorate. From January 2020, the Italian and Albanian authorities of the Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK) in Tirana contacted Eurojust to coordinate cross-border judicial cooperation against this complex network. It operated from both Albania and Italy, transporting drugs by car to…
Source: Europol
Following the initial disclosure of two vulnerabilities at the beginning of January, two additional vulnerabilities were disclosed on 31 January 2024, which impact all supported versions of Ivanti Connect Secure and Ivanti Policy Secure Gateway products and make it possible for attackers to run commands on the system. Broader exploitation of the initially disclosed vulnerabilities had been observed already as…
Source: Europol
During the action week, the involved authorities carried out checks on passengers and their luggage, as well as on parcels and cargo shipments, at 61 major airports. The checks aimed at detecting the possession or trafficking of drugs, especially cocaine, originating from Latin America. Another objective was to enhance the cooperation between police and customs authorities on both sides of…
Source: Europol
The mandates of both EU agencies have been significantly enhanced in recent years, opening new possibilities to work together, particularly in the fields of migrant smuggling and human trafficking. The joint statement outlines how the two agencies can better coordinate their activities to complement each other. The statement identifies concrete short and long-term priority actions. In practice, Frontex’s role is to provide…
Source: Europol
The investigation into this criminal network uncovered that the suspects allegedly recruited Latvian and Portuguese nationals and facilitated their journeys to Cyprus, where the women entered into arranged marriages with third-country nationals. The suspects, mainly Indian, Pakistani and Portuguese citizens, arranged all the logistics including the purchase of flight tickets and the acquisition on passports and other required documents. The OTF’s…
Source: Eurojust
Eurojust and Europol have supported a coordinated action of the Dutch, German, Latvian, Lithuanian and Canadian authorities against the alleged violation of export sanctions to Russia. During a joint action day, three suspects were arrested and 14 places searched in view of investigations into the illegal export of technological and laboratory equipment, which could be used for military purposes. Such exports are illegal due to the EU-wide sanctions, which were imposed after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
The arrested persons are suspected of being part of an international smuggling network. The physical and digital administration of a Dutch-registered enterprise has been seized, in addition to the enterprise’s bank account and communication tools.
Investigations into the case were initiated at the end of 2023 by the Dutch authorities and led to the uncovering of a web of enterprises, which were used to circumvent the ban on exports to Russia. These enterprises were centred around a Dutch-registered trading company, which was set up in 2017 for the import, export and sales of electro-technical and laboratory equipment, among other goods.
Two of the suspects were administrators of the main trading company. The third suspect is an employee of an external contractor, who is alleged to have been aware of the violation of the export ban. The trading company in question is now run by an administrator in Russia, who is also the sole shareholder.
Eurojust enabled the cross-border judicial cooperation and organised a coordination meeting to prepare for the joint actions, at request of the Dutch authorities. It also set up a coordination centre during the action day, which was held on 9 January.
Europol has been supporting the investigation by providing analytical support, as well as conducting cross-checks on the gathered data.
The actions were carried out at the request of and were supported by the following authorities:
Source: Europol
Results of the operation include:15 persons arrested18 victims or possible human trafficking victims detected4 new investigations initiated398 flights monitored13 harbours monitored19 postal services and express delivery companies monitored57 checkpoints at borders and hotspots establishedSerious organised crime coordinated from NigeriaNigerian criminal networks have long been renowned for trafficking in human beings and a variety of fraud, but in recent years they…
Source: Europol
Deliberate breach of EU sanctions against RussiaInvestigations into the case were initiated at the end of 2022 by the Dutch authorities and led to the uncovering of a web of enterprises that were used to circumvent the ban for exports to Russia. Europol supported the investigation by providing analytical support, as well as conducting crosschecks on the data gathered during…
Source: Europol
The analysis describes the European market for heroin (the most frequently used illicit opioid), from production and trafficking, to distribution and use. It also details the processes, materials and criminal actors involved at different stages and levels of the market. Where available, data on heroin are supplemented by insights into other opioids trafficked and consumed in the EU. The EU retail…
Source: Europol
This message is addressed to former staff of Europol.By means of the new Service Level Agreement, Europol has continued the practice of delegating the following services to the European Commission Pay Master Office (PMO):Sickness insurance – Accidents – Occupational Disease UnemploymentPayment of Retirement Pension – Survivors and Orphans Pension – Transfer IN and Transfer OUT – Severance Grant Invalidity AllowanceBy delegating the…