Latest news with #OperationBulut
Euronews
17-04-2025
- Euronews
Digital tracking on encrypted platforms leads to drugs smuggling bust, Europol says
ADVERTISEMENT Authorities have dismantled four major criminal networks responsible for fuelling the flow of drugs into the European Union and Turkey, arresting more than 230 people in a sting known as Operation Bulut. The final three arrests were made in the Netherlands and Germany on Wednesday, bringing the trans-European operation to a close. Europol said the investigation took place across multiple jurisdictions and involved authorities in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. What set this operation apart, was the extent to which law enforcement officers employed digital tracking within encrypted digital platforms to track down and arrest suspected drug smugglers. In an interview with Euronews, Andy Kraag, the Head of Europol's European Serious and Organised Crime Centre, explained more about the operation. Euronews: Why is Operation Bulut regarded as innovative in the fight against international crime and drug trafficking? Andy Kraag:** This is a prime example of a strategy for tackling these criminal organisations. This strategy, as we call it, is a data-driven network strategy. With these platforms, for instance, we collect large data sets. We conduct analysis so that we can identify, we can locate and target the right criminals. This is a prime example. This sends a strong message to organised crime groups that even the most resilient networks can be dismantled, specifically when we, as law enforcement, join forces. Euronews: Was ANOM a trap encrypted platform to attract and track criminal activities? Kraag:** Operation Bulut was built on the encryptions, so on the messages from Sky and from ANOM. And ANOM is a different platform. ANOM was the platform that was run by law enforcement, by the Australians and by the police officers. And they saw it. And in this platform, these criminals also talked about criminal activities. So instantly we could use it as evidence. Through ANOM, law enforcement themselves put in a platform themselves and criminals choose to communicate on it. Andy Kraag, Europol's head of the Serious Organised Crime Unit Europol Euronews: Did the EU police forces, along with officers from Turkey, gain access to encrypted platforms the criminals gangs were using to communicate? Kraag:** These messages (of the criminals) gave us the main advantage to carry out this operation. Even though the messages were four years old, it takes some time to develop the cases. Sometimes, we also say in law enforcement, that this goldmine of information that we have decrypted is like the gift that keeps on giving. We constantly develop actionable intelligence, which leads to ongoing investigations. ADVERTISEMENT Euronews: You mentioned a keyword; intelligence. Have you managed to overcome the lack of classified information information sharing between states? That's often a stumbling block in the struggle against crime in the EU? Kraag:** The information sharing between European law enforcement agencies has improved, but now we're also able to share as well. France authorised the sharing (of its intelligence) with Turkey. We know that there's law enforcement and there's only one thing that is needed: to share information, to cooperate, and to be able to connect the dots. And specifically for Europol, what is our role? That's basically what we do. We are the glue that brings everything together. ADVERTISEMENT
Saudi Gazette
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
232 arrested as Europol dismantles four major drug smuggling networks
BRUSSELS — Authorities have dismantled four major criminal networks responsible for fuelling the flow of drugs into the European Union and Turkey, the EU's law enforcement agency Europol said in a statement. It follows a series of "coordinated raids" supported by the agency, which led to the arrest of 232 suspects, including several "high-value targets". Europol said the investigation, codenamed Operation Bulut, took place across multiple jurisdictions and involved authorities in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. The law enforcement agency said that the groups were arrested in connection with the seizure of at least 21 tonnes of drugs in Europe and Turkey, including 3.3 million MDMA tablets. Europol said the groups had used both traditional smuggling routes and sophisticated logistics. Investigators also reportedly exposed the groups' involvement in money laundering, violent crime and a wider network of organized criminal activity. Europol said that the use of "encrypted communication platforms" such as Sky ECC and ANOM had been a crucial tool in the operation. Over the past two years, Europol has played a key role in coordinating efforts across Europe to support investigations into these criminal networks, the agency said. By hosting high-level coordination meetings, Europol brought together all involved countries to develop a joint strategy, while intelligence shared through its channels helped map the networks' structure and identify links to other cases, it added. However, fighting drug trafficking networks in Europe is "a game of cat and mouse," according to Socialist Member of the European Parliament, Sandro Ruotolo. He was part of a parliamentary delegation that visited the ports of Antwerp in Belgium and Rotterdam in the Netherlands to assess measures to clamp down on the flow of drugs at two of the European Union's major entry points. The MEPs toured container terminals and met with local port authorities to receive briefings on how organized crime gangs conduct their drug smuggling operations. "We know the amount of drugs being seized, but how much is actually getting through?" Ruotolo asked, explaining that while scanners at the port of Rotterdam can detect cocaine hidden inside fruit, they are unable to spot it when it is concealed in fabrics. — Euronews
