Security News > 2022 > November > International cops arrest hundreds of fraudsters, money launderers and cocaine kingpins

Europol has arrested hundreds of fraudsters, money launderers and cocaine kingpins, and shut down thousands of websites selling pirated and counterfeit products in a series of raids over the past month.

Cops across several continents seized 127,365 fake designer watches, shoes, accessories, clothes, perfumes, electronics, phone cases and other counterfeit products worth more than Є3.8 million.

"Key findings of the operation that took place from May 1 to November 14 also show that more counterfeit products are being assembled within the European Union's borders and that intellectual property crime is closely intertwined with serious and organized crime," the European cops said.

In addition to Operation In Our Sites, law enforcement across Europe and the United Arab Emirates earlier this month carried out raids targeting the command-and-control center and drug trafficking infrastructure belonging to a "Super cartel" that controlled about one third of the cocaine trade in Europe.

The arrests were the result of parallel investigations run in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UAE, and Dutch police arrested 14 suspects last year as part of this same global operation.

More than 200,000 people in the UK alone were targeted via iSpoof, according to London's Metropolitan Police, which led the investigation and described the fraud operation as the country's biggest-ever.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/11/29/europol_fraud_drug_arrests/