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  INTERPOL financial crime operation makes record 5,500 arrests, seizures worth over USD 400 million

  Interpol

  November 27, 2024

  LYON, France – A global operation involving law enforcement from 40 countries, territories and regions has ended with the arrest of over 5,500 financial crime suspects and the seizure of more than USD 400 million in virtual assets and government-backed currencies. The five-month Operation HAECHI V (July - November 2024) targeted seven types of cyber-enabled frauds: voice phishing, romance scams, online sextortion, investment fraud, illegal online gambling, business email compromise fraud and e-commerce fraud. As part of the operation, Korean authorities, in tandem with authorities in Beijing successfully dismantled a sprawling voice phishing syndicate responsible for financial losses totaling 1,511 billion KRW (USD 1.1 billion) and affecting over 1,900 victims. The organization’s sophisticated modus operandi included masquerading as law enforcement officials and using counterfeit identification. The operation led to the arrest of at least 27 members of the organized criminal group, with 19 individuals subsequently indicted.

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  11 arrested in new sting against wholesale cocaine traffickers

  Europol

  November 27, 2024

  A long-running cross-border investigation has led to the takedown of a large-scale drug trafficking criminal network smuggling cocaine from South America into the EU. The operation spanned Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. The cocaine traffickers targeted in this investigation used different maritime routes and modus operandi. The criminal network is connected to a seizure of over half a tonne of cocaine, with a street value of a EUR 50 million, at the port of Ploče in southern Croatia in late March 2021. The drugs were concealed in a modified cargo container floor. This seizure is a further indication that international drug trafficking organisations are increasingly targeting smaller EU ports

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  Romania: EPPO carries out searches in probe into subsidy fraud involving beekeeping

  European Public Prosecutor's Office

  November 27, 2024

  (Luxembourg, 27 November 2024) - The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Cluj-Napoca (Romania) is carrying out nine searches today in Mureș County, in an investigation into a possible subsidy fraud involving projects for beekeeping and the processing of honey, financed by the EU. The searches are being conducted at the homes of four individuals and at the headquarters of companies under investigation.