European police arrest more than 1,000 in biggest ever organised crime crackdown

More than 1,000 people have been arrested in Europe’s biggest-ever co-ordinated assault on organised crime, authorities say. Those detained in the “unprecedented” nine-day operation were suspected of a range of offences including people trafficking, drug smuggling, illegal immigration, tax fraud, counterfeiting, theft and property crime. Among the drugs seized were 599kg of cocaine, 200kg of heroin and 1.3 tons of cannabis. And 30 Romanian children were saved from trafficking, according to police organisation Europol.

The scale of the operation is unprecedented and the outcome…. is a reminder to even the most serious criminal groups that the international law enforcement community is determined to combat their illegal activities.

Europol Director Rob Wainwright

A total of 1,027 individuals were arrested as part of Operation Archimedes. Raids took place this month at hundreds of locations in the European Union, including airports, border-crossing points, ports and specific crime hot spots in towns and cities. Europol chief, Rob Wainwright (pictured above), told a news conference: “It’s the single largest coordinated assault on organised crime ever seen in Europe.” He added as EU police chiefs gather for a conference “our focus will be on how our combined strengths can best be applied to bringing down even more of the organised criminal groups that threaten the safety and wellbeing of our society”.

Europe Europol