Latest Press Releases

• People smuggling network in Belgium disrupted
  
  
  On the initiative of the Federal Police in Asse, Belgium, 9 persons were arrested today for people smuggling. House searches also revealed 4 illegal immigrants.
  Those arrested belong to a network of criminals, mainly from Iraq, suspected of smuggling illegal immigrants from Belgium to the United Kingdom. [click link for more]




• Illegal print shop dismantled in Colombia
  
  
  An illegal print shop responsible for the production of counterfeit euro bank notes has been dismantled in the capital of Colombia, Bogota. Counterfeit 50 euro notes to the value of more than 1 200 000 euros were seized, along with 312 000 000 counterfeit Colombian pesos, an offset machine, printing plates, a computer and other materials to be used for the production of counterfeit currency. The banknotes were intended for distribution in Europe. [click link for more]








• Europol part of a succesful operation against counterfeiting
  
  
  A joint customs operation, codenamed Diabolo II, conducted in the framework of ASEM (AsiaaEurope meeting) has led to the seizure of more than 65 million counterfeit cigarettes and 369,000 other counterfeit items (shoes, toys, cameras, headphones, hats, caps, gloves, handbags, etc.) representing over 20 different trademarks. The operation also resulted in further international investigations into criminal activities. Final results of this operation were released today at a debriefing meeting held in Tokyo. This joint customs operation, coordinated by the European Commission/the European Anti–Fraud Office (OLAF), was codenamed "Diabolo II" following the successful 2007 joint customs operation "Diabolo I". [click link for more]




• European Data Protection Day
  
  
  Together with other European bodies, Europol is celebrating the anniversary of the Council of Europe’s Convention 108 on the protection of personal data. The Convention is the first legally–binding international instrument in the field of data protection.
  The data protection framework at Europol takes account of the Convention and implements its principles. Rights of individuals are duly safeguarded with regard to current enhanced data–processing capabilities. Europol’s data protection regime is one of the most robust frameworks for law enforcement data processing in the world. [click link for more]