May.25, 2010, 17:28:00

In an operation coordinated by Europol and finalised today in Ireland, the UK and Spain, 32 persons have been arrested for money laundering activities linked to international drug trafficking.

The investigations started after an operational meeting at Europol in July 2008. The targeted organised crime group was a multifaceted criminal organisation, operating internationally and led by top Irish criminals already known to Irish law enforcement and suspected of involvement in a range of lucrative criminal activities. The investigations immediately revealed the presence of an extensive criminal network involved in commercial and financial transactions with overseas jurisdictions in South America, Africa and the Far East.

Through surveillance, wiretapping activities and investigations, evidence was gathered and members of the organised crime group were identified. Members of this group were very mobile; they regularly travelled across Europe and beyond to give instructions to their associates and create business relationships to re–invest the proceeds of crime. Such activities were directed with the assistance of solicitors who created companies and corporate vehicles to hide the real ownership and perform illegal financial transactions.

Over the past two years, Europol has ensured the coordination of the investigations via several operational meetings. Europol also delivered expertise and several analytical products to support the enquiries.

During the operation today, Europol mobile offices were deployed to Ireland, Spain and the UK. The Belgian Police, the Irish Garda, UK SOCA, the Spanish national police, Eurojust and a number of other law enforcement agencies were involved in this international operation, with a total of 750 officers involved.

This allowed for the cross–checking of new material collected during the operations, including the content of computers and electronic devices such as Palms or telephones used by the suspects.

Europol Director Rob Wainwright said: "Evidence has shown that criminals are even more concerned about losing their ill–gotten gains than going to prison. This operation hit them in the worst possible place – their wallets. It also demonstrates that international law enforcement cooperation is very effective in disrupting criminal organisations which deal with highly sophisticated forms of economic crime."