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Source: Europol
Investigators reported 483 000 victims worldwide, who had attempted to regain access to their phones and been phished in the process. The victims are mainly Spanish-speaking nationals from European, North American and South American countries.The successful operation took place thanks to international cooperation between law enforcement and judiciary authorities from Spain, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.The action week took…
Source: Eurojust
26 September 2024|
A large-scale cocaine-smuggling ring was dismantled by authorities in Italy, Albania, Poland and Switzerland, coordinated by Eurojust. During an action day, a total of 45 suspects were arrested, most of them in Italy. Prior to the action day, 21 suspects involved in the sale of cocaine in and around the city of Brescia were arrested. In total, 66 arrests were made. The Albanian-led organised crime group (OCG) had been selling cocaine from Latin America for at least four years, mainly in the north of Italy.
Eurojust set up a coordination centre this week to support and coordinate the actions of all authorities involved. During the investigations and the action day, for an estimated amount of EUR 4 million in cash was seized, as well as 360 kilograms of cocaine, luxury vehicles and watches, telecommunications equipment, arms and ammunition.
Investigations into the drug-smuggling network started in 2020 at the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO) of Brescia. The OCG used five warehouses and storage centres in and around Brescia to distribute the cocaine.
The suspects laundered their illegal profits via an extensive network of enterprises run by an Italian-Chinese organisation set up for this purpose, which supplied fake invoices with a total value of around EUR 375 million. The OCG members will be charged with the trafficking of illicit drugs, money laundering and investment fraud.
During this week’s action day, over 400 officers were deployed across Italy. To assist the authorities on the ground, Eurojust set up a coordination centre at its premises in The Hague and supported the execution of European Arrest Warrants and requests for Mutual Legal Assistance towards Albania and Switzerland. Europol facilitated the exchange of information between the involved countries and provided operational coordination as well as analytical support. On the action day, a Europol analyst with a mobile office was deployed to cross-check information on the spot in Italy.
The operations were carried out at the request of the PPO of Brescia via the following authorities:
Source: Eurojust
German and Italian authorities worked together with Eurojust and Europol to stop a fraudulent scheme. The suspects targeted public institutions, cities, and municipalities, and were able to cause damages of several million euros. On 24 September, an operation took place where technology and assets were seized and search warrants against five suspects were executed.
For over a year, suspects ran a fraudulent scheme in Germany that made them millions. Several public institutions, companies, cities, and municipalities were affected by the scheme. By using phishing techniques, the suspects gained access to real invoices that were addressed to public institutions and companies. The fraudsters manipulated them with their own financial information. The manipulated invoices were then sent to victims, who paid them to the fraudsters instead of their business partners.
Investigations into the scheme identified five suspects with Italian and German citizenship. As authorities needed to search properties in Germany and Italy, a cross-border case was opened at Eurojust. Coordination through Eurojust defined the strategy of the investigation between the German and Italian authorities. Authorities decided to execute simultaneous searches in the two countries to gather evidence of the fraud and seize assets that were gained through the fraudulent scheme. Europol provided continuous intelligence development to map out the different targets and their criminal activity.
On 24 September, search warrants against five suspects were executed in Germany and Italy and ten propereties were searched. During the operation, Europol activated a Virtual Command Post to provide support from its headquarters to the investigators on the field as they carried out their enforcement actions. Assets were provisionally secured, and cell phones, computers, and data storage devices were seized. Special Forces will now investigate the seized technology as the investigation continues.
The following authorities were involved in the actions:
Source: Europol
The signatures of these two legal instruments put into practice the Working Arrangement between the International Criminal Court and Europol, which was concluded on 25 April 2023. This will allow the ICC to nominate a Liaison Officer to Europol. The signing will also allow the ICC to establish a SIENA connection with Europol, allowing for the secure exchange of sensitive…
Source: Eurojust
Investigations into the communication platform started when authorities were alerted of a new encrypted service being used in Sweden, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Due to servers being located in France, French authorities started investigations into the platform. The platform’s robust encryption made it ideal for criminal networks to use for their activities. It was mostly used for drug trafficking but also for other criminal activities, such as arms trading, homicide, robbery, kidnapping, and money laundering.
The communication platform is a fully anonymised service. Users can purchase the solution without any personal information. The platform uses three encryption standards and offers the option to send a message followed by a specific code that results in the self-destruction of all messages on the target phone. By using multiple private servers around the world, third party or government agencies have difficulty tracking the communication solution.
As servers were found in France and Iceland, the platform was administered from Australia and Canada, and financial assets were located in the United States, a global operation against the phone service started. A joint investigation team (JIT) between authorities from France and the United States was set up at Eurojust, the second-ever JIT with the United States. This allowed them to exchange information and evidence in real time. Authorities from the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada and Australia were also involved in the investigations. Through coordination among the authorities, hosted by Eurojust, a strategy to take down the encrypted phone solution was defined.
To facilitate investigations into the illegal activities using this communication platform, an Operational Taskforce (OTF) was established at Europol in March 2022 involving law enforcement authorities from Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States.
A Joint Operational Centre was also established at Europol’s headquarters, where representatives from the OTF members and Europol’s officers provided support and facilitated the coordination of the simultaneous operational activities taking place around the globe.
The investigations culminated in a number of joint action days taking place across the globe against the phone service. 38 suspects were arrested in Australia, 11 in Ireland, one in Italy and one in Canada. A drug lab was dismantled in Australia and weapons, drugs and over EUR 1 million euro is cash was seized globally so far. Further actions are expected as the investigation progresses.
The following authorities were involved in the actions:
Source: Europol
Europol’s Executive Director Catherine De Bolle said:Today we have made it clear that no matter how hidden criminal networks think they are, they can’t evade our collective effort. Law enforcement from 9 countries, together with Europol, have dismantled a tool which was a lifeline for serious organised crime. This operation is what Europol is all about: turning collaboration into concrete…
Source: Europol
This operation is the latest sophisticated effort to date to disrupt the activities of high-risk criminal organisations operating from all four corners of the world.DetailsSpeakers:EuropolFrench National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale)United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)Australian Federal Police (AFP)Irish An Garda SíochánaRoyal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)Countries and organisations involved:Australia, Canada, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, United States, Europol, EurojustTime:…
Source: Europol
New risks…The presentations and panels revealed emerging ways in which crypto assets and innovations are abused to facilitate organised crime.While cryptocurrencies pose no greater intrinsic risk than more traditional assets and value transfer systems, their unique features can be leveraged to facilitate ransomware attacks and other cybercrime, which can affect critical infrastructure and services.Speakers revealed cases of sophisticated misuse of…
Source: Europol
Despite extensive investigations over the years, the identity of the suspect(s) remains unknown, and authorities are hoping that new information from the public can finally help solve this case.What we knowOn 8 August 1996, a brutal murder occurred in Dümmerlohausen, Germany, where the victim was found next to a stolen red vehicle, riddled with bullets.The victim, a male national from…
Source: Europol
Among those detained are the five Romanian leaders of the group, who are believed to have been responsible for the logistics and management of the criminal activities. The other suspects were criminal associates in charge of recruiting drivers or accommodating migrants in so-called safe houses, two of which were found in Italy. The criminal group is suspected of having been…