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Source: Europol
Unscrupulous attacks with severe collateral damageFor several years now, perpetrators have increasingly been using solid explosives – originating mainly from fireworks – to blow up ATMs. This has significantly augmented the danger and collateral damage of their attacks. The criminals, who are often based in the Netherlands, take extreme risks and act unscrupulously, both at the crime scene and when…
Source: Interpol (news and events)
Tracking the money made by perpetrators and preventing the revictimization of children
LYON, France — INTERPOL has concluded a two-year global operation to bring to justice criminals operating networks of child sexual abuse websites designed to generate profits from advertising.
Running from December 2021 to July 2023, Operation Narsil also targeted the finance mechanisms used by the website administrators to conduct their online advertising campaigns.
Over two years, INTERPOL member countries worked together using INTERPOL’s Worst of List (IWOL), sharing targeted intelligence, pinpointing suspects and coordinating arrests of the people managing the websites.
Created in 2010, IWOL contains a watchlist of websites containing extreme child abuse material. The General Secretariat headquarters works with law enforcement in all regions so that national Internet service providers close down these websites.
“Operation Narsil sends a strong message to the criminals making money from these websites that INTERPOL, and its alliance of police forces in 195 member countries, know where they are, what they are doing, and how to find them,” said Jürgen Stock, INTERPOL Secretary General.
“Every time a person clicks on these images, they are effectively entering a crime scene. Identifying and removing these websites reduces the availability and potential normalization of online child abuse material, and, most importantly, reduces the re-victimization of the children abused,” added Secretary General Stock.
In one case, a brother and sister, both in their early thirties, were arrested as a result of IWOL digital clues and intelligence provided by the global police community pointing investigators to the suspects in Argentina.
Investigations by Argentina’s Victim Identification Office in the Anti Cyber Crimes against Minors Division and the Specialised Cybercrime Prosecution Unit (UFECI), working with Federal Courts in Mendoza Province, led to the identification and arrest of the two suspects.
Fourteen electronic devices were seized from their home as well as cash and credit cards. The siblings are thought to have created, maintained and financially benefitted for more than a decade from websites featuring child sexual abuse material and associated advertising campaigns.
“Given the technological complexities of this case and the degree to which the criminal activity went undetected, these arrests highlight the importance of police cooperation across regional, national, and international borders,” said the Head of Argentina’s Federal Police, Juan Carlos Hernandez, who also serves as delegate for the Americas on INTERPOL’s Executive Committee.
“With synchronized arrests across continents, this operation confronted global networks that profit from child abuse images and videos. INTERPOL is a strong global network of officers fully committed to putting an end to the online abuse of children, and we applaud the action and incredible results countries have achieved in Operation Narsil,” added Argentina’s Police Chief.
Working with the Prosecutor’s Office, Bulgarian law enforcement identified and arrested a 34-year-old man who made his living operating an online forum that facilitated the sharing of child sexual abuse materials.
Bulgarian Police closed the online forum he had been running since 2020 and which is thought to have facilitated access to thousands of media files depicting serious child sexual abuse material.
Following the arrest, investigations are ongoing to identify forum users.
In one case during the Russian leg of Operation Narsil, police authorities arrested two 24-year-old citizens for the production and online circulation of materials depicting the sexual violation of minors. Authorities searched the suspects’ homes, seizing computer equipment containing specialized software for creating and administrating websites, and removable hard drives containing child sexual abuse material.
With the support of US Homeland Security Investigations, Thai police arrested a 45-year-old Thai national for the possession and online distribution of child sexual abuse material. His arrest came after police executed a search warrant at his residence, uncovering large amounts of child sexual abuse material and financial transaction records associated with online distribution of the abuse photos.
Narsil – meaning a longsword which tackles all evil – is one of the first INTERPOL operations to focus on identifying, locating and arresting the people receiving advertising revenues from website visitors interested in viewing the site’s child sexual abuse content.
INTERPOL has been monitoring websites disseminating child sexual abuse imagery for more than 13 years and, in collaboration with law enforcement partners across the world, has seized more than 20,000 domains.
Operation Narsil involved investigations triggered by law enforcement in Austria, Argentina, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States.
Source: Interpol (news and events)
The two organizations to coordinate efforts to support governments in protecting children from sexual exploitation and abuse, including in digital environments
LYON/NEW YORK – INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock and UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell have signed an agreement of cooperation that will support national governments around the world to prevent and address online child sexual exploitation and abuse and other child protection issues.
Under the new agreement, the two organizations will cooperate in supporting national law enforcement agencies globally to improve their response to sexual exploitation and abuse crimes against children, including by:
“Every day, investigators around the world undertake painstaking and heroic work to identify victims and the perpetrators of online child sexual exploitation and abuse – but tackling this issue extends beyond law enforcement,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock. “This agreement is an acknowledgement that safeguarding children takes all of us. UNICEF plays a crucial role in child protection globally. Through closer cooperation, their knowledge and resources will help improve law enforcement activities on the ground.”
According to the latest available data from UNICEF, up to 20 per cent of internet-using children in 12 low- and middle-income countries said they have experienced online sexual exploitation or abuse in the previous year, while data from national hotlines and clearing houses suggest a proliferation of child sexual abuse content online in recent years.
While some countries have law enforcement units dedicated to child protection and victims, many lack the specialized staff, skills and resources needed to effectively investigate cases—especially those involving digital elements—conduct victim identification, and safeguard children. The new partnership aims to fill these critical capacity gaps and promote greater investment and coordinated action to ensure victims and survivors receive the support they require and perpetrators face justice.
“Child sexual abuse and exploitation is a global scourge. Collaboration across sectors and across borders is key to addressing this problem,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Working with INTERPOL will help us bring law enforcement expertise to our country programs and strengthen protection measures for every child.”
The INTERPOL-UNICEF agreement seeks to leverage the global reach and specific strengths of each organization to protect and improve the lives of children threatened by online exploitation and other forms of violence. INTERPOL’s global law enforcement networks span 195 member countries, while UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories, and through its child protection programmes, supports governments and partners to prevent and respond to all forms of violence against children, including in digital environments.
INTERPOL’s Crimes Against Children unit works to identify and rescue young victims of sexual abuse, block access to child sexual abuse material, and prevent sex offenders from travelling abroad to abuse children or escape justice. INTERPOL’s International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database helps investigators make connections between victims, abusers and places. To date, more than 34,000 victims in the ICSE database have been identified by law enforcement around the world. Many more unidentified victims are documented in the database as part of the ongoing global effort to locate them and their criminal abusers.
This agreement is the latest of many that INTERPOL has signed with UN entities in its longstanding cooperation with the United Nations.
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.
For more information about UNICEF and its work for children visit www.unicef.org
Follow UNICEF on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
Source: Interpol (news and events)
Authorities have safeguarded victims aged 19 months, 7 and 9.
LYON, France – Colombia police have safeguarded three children and arrested their mother and aunt, accused of live streaming the children’s sexual abuse for profit.
Australian authorities first brought the case to INTERPOL’s attention in December 2022 after finding a video depicting child sexual abuse on the Darknet. The video material was uploaded to INTERPOL’s International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database, where specialized officers from around the world could consult and analyse it for clues.
One month later, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation alerted INTERPOL’s Crimes against Children (CAC) unit to the possible identity of one of the offenders, pinning their likely location as Colombia. The CAC unit confirmed their hypothesis, uncovering a number of clues and prepared a comprehensive victim identification report for Colombian authorities.
Upon reception and investigation, Colombia’s national police confirmed the location and identity of the children and the two offenders. They found that the mother and aunt had been using specific platforms to produce and sell made-to-order, live sexual abuse video material for ‘customers’ abroad.
On 22 February, Colombian authorities carried out a coordinated rescue-and-arrest operation, working with child protection services to safeguard the children and ensure they receive medical and psychological care.
INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock said, “This appalling case shows that live streaming child sexual exploitation is not confined to any region, it is global, and as in this case, usually involving very young children.
“We will continue to work with Colombian investigators to analyse seized devices, identify further victims and review data to find the individuals who were ordering and facilitating the horrific abuse from behind their screens,” concluded Secretary General Stock.
Today the ICSE database links 68 countries and connection of additional countries is ongoing. Since its launch, the database has assisted in the identification and documentation of more than 33,000 victims and 14,900 offenders worldwide.
Source: Interpol (news and events)
LYON, France – The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is contributing AUD 815,000 for a significant enhancement to INTERPOL’s International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database.
The ICSE database is a ground-breaking tool to advance child exploitation investigations through strengthened global information sharing.
The upgrade, known as ICSE Next Generation, is designed to speed up the process by which investigators identify victims in child exploitation material, through integration of the latest technologies for improved text, audio and video analysis, facial recognition, and artificial intelligence.
Launched 13 years ago, ICSE currently connects specialist investigators in 68 countries and has so far assisted in the identification of more than 31,000 victims, including 860 victims in Australia.
On average, around seven victims are identified every day.
In addition, more than 14,000 offenders have been tracked and arrested by law enforcement, including 349 in Australia.
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw said the AFP’s partnership with INTERPOL to support the upgrade of the database highlighted the commitment of law enforcement to protecting children around the world, while bringing offenders to justice.
AFP Commissioner Kershaw and Secretary General Stock announce the boost to the International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database.
“We know we can’t win this important battle alone. The advancement of this database is a game changer for how law enforcement around the world can work together to protect our society’s most vulnerable – our children,” he said.
Commissioner Kershaw said child protection investigations would be bolstered with law enforcement agencies avoiding duplication of effort by triaging online child exploitation material multiple times in multiple jurisdictions.
“This specialized tool means our investigators will be faster and more efficient than ever before, allowing us to quickly target, track and disrupt those seeking to harm and exploit children around the world – and most importantly, bring them to justice.
“The AFP is proud to partner with INTERPOL, along with our state, Commonwealth and international law enforcement counterparts, to combat this insidious crime,” concluded Commissioner Kershaw.
“The AFP’s decision to provide this funding underlines its strong and unwavering commitment to child protection, as well as its confidence in INTERPOL’s ICSE database which is a vital policing tool.”
“We are seeing a consistent, and worrying, increase in the amount of online child sexual abuse and exploitation material, where every image is evidence of a crime.
“Only through global cooperation, supported by the latest technologies, can law enforcement effectively work to identify and rescue victims around the world,” concluded Secretary General Stock.
The AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) and AFP Child Protection Operations frequently contribute to the ICSE database, ensuring that investigators in other countries can benefit from the work undertaken in Australia to help identify victims.
In May 2022, the ACCCE VIU hosted the third National Victim Identification Taskforce, during which more than 3,500 files were de-conflicted against the ICSE database, with images from 55 newly-identified victims added for potential identification.
Source: Interpol (news and events)
NEW DELHI, India – For more than 20 years, INTERPOL has served as a unique and powerful cooperation platform to combat online child sexual exploitation.
Currently containing more than 4.3 million videos and images, INTERPOL’s International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database enables investigators to make connections between victims, abusers, and locations from across all regions.
Through leads generated via ICSE, to date more than 30,000 victims have been identified around the world.
However, in addition to significant under-reporting of online child sexual exploitation and abuse cases, many countries do not have specialized units dedicated to this crime type, with others lacking necessary legislation to support investigations.
A Resolution endorsed by delegates at the 90th General Assembly highlights the urgent need for member countries to develop units and connect to and use the ICSE database to develop a stronger victim-centric process of identifying and safeguarding children.
“Each and every child should be protected from sexual exploitation and abuse, and from re-victimization after images have been shared online,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock.
“Data sharing between law enforcement and across regions is essential. If information is not shared globally, victims around the world remain unidentified and their abusers avoid justice. Neither can be acceptable.
“INTERPOL remains unwavering in its commitment to assist member countries in their efforts to address child exploitation and related crimes. These are crime areas where silos cannot be created, whether by one agency, or one region. There is too much at stake,” concluded Secretary General Stock.
Currently 68 member countries are connected to the ICSE database. Greater participation will result in more victim identifications by linking parallel enquiries and avoiding duplication of efforts in investigating material related to already solved cases.
Source: Europol
The individual was identified after Europol provided crucial intelligence, developed through its ongoing work in analysing encrypted communication platforms frequently used by organised crime groups.The plot was orchestrated by the head of an organised crime group, who played a key role in recruiting the contract killer and coordinating the logistics of the assassination. The leader of the criminal group organised…
Source: NATO
On Wednesday (16 October 2024), at his official residence in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met with the Prime Minister of Latvia, Evika Siliņa, to discuss further strengthening NATO’s defences and NATO’s continued support to Ukraine.
Mr. Rutte praised Latvia for its many contributions to the Alliance. “You spend almost 3 percent of GDP on defence, you host a multinational battlegroup where Allies work side by side to defend NATO’s eastern flank, as well as military exercises to ensure that Latvian and Allied armed forces maintain a high level of readiness and interoperability,” said Mr Rutte at the joint press conference with Prime Minister Siliņa. He referred to Latvia’s commitment to increase defence spending to 3 percent of GDP and noted Riga’s ambition to reach this goal even sooner than expected. Mr. Rutte also commended Latvia for its contributions to NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo and NATO’s training mission in Iraq.
On Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the Secretary General reiterated that “we must deliver on the commitments we made at the Washington Summit,” noting that Russia has relentlessly attacked Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure with winter just around the corner. He recalled that “Latvia has provided extensive military training for Ukrainian soldiers” and leads a coalition that works with industry to supply drones. “I welcome your recent announcement of a new military aid package, including armoured personnel vehicles,” added Mr. Rutte.
Source: Eurojust
The international criminal group set up a well-structured organisation to counterfeit famous and exclusive French red wine, worth up to EUR 15 000 per bottle. By working with printing houses in Italy, the criminal group was able to re-create the corks and labels of famous French wineries. The forged wine was then delivered to an Italian airport and taken abroad to be sold at market value around the world by wine traders. The criminals were able to sell the bottles of the counterfeit wine, generating profits of over EUR 2 million.
The investigation started after suspicions of forgery reached French authorities. The authorities discovered that the criminal group had been running their operation from Italy. Investigations continued between the French and Italian authorities at Eurojust. To support the investigation, Eurojust ensured the execution of European Investigation Orders in Italy.
The criminal group was dismantled during operations carried out in Paris, Milan and Turin. During 14 house searches, authorities were able to seize counterfeit labels and bottles of wine, as well as computers, phones, valuable goods, (including luxury watches with a value of EUR 1.4 million), and important documentation for the investigation. Money was also seized, including EUR 77 000 in France and EUR 40 000 in Italy. Seven suspects were arrested based on their criminal activity of introducing and selling products with false markings.
The following authorities were involved in the actions:
Source: NATO
The NATO Through Time podcast dives deep into NATO’s history, reflecting on how the past influences the present – and future – of the longest-lasting alliance in history. This episode features former President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who was instrumental in leading her country, alongside Albania, to NATO membership in 2009.
What was it like learning about NATO while growing up in the former Yugoslavia?
Why did NATO launch “out-of-area” operations in the Western Balkans following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s?
What was the road to NATO membership like for Albania and Croatia, and how did these countries help pave the way for other countries in the region to join the Alliance?
In this episode, former President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović reflects on her country’s journey to independence and its decision to “rejoin the European family” by becoming a member of NATO and the European Union. She also speaks about how Croatia has helped other countries in southeast Europe join the Alliance, and how this experience will support the future membership of further countries, including Ukraine. In addition to serving as President of Croatia (2015-2020), she was also the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (2005-2008), Ambassador to the United States (2008-2011) and NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy (2011-2014), so she played a crucial role in bringing Croatia into NATO and in its early years of membership in the Alliance.
The podcast is available on YouTube, and on all major podcast platforms, including: