The European Commission welcomes the provisional political agreement reached today between the European Parliament and the Council to reinforce Europol’s role and inter-agency cooperation in the fight against migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. This regulation was proposed by the Commission in November 2023. The fight against migrant smuggling is a Commission priority, as President von der […]
PhD – Sociology – Sweden
The PhD position is part of the 5-year project “Sexual and Reproductive Outcomes of Violent Crime (SeRO)” funded by a European Research Council 2025 Starting Grant. Dr. Signe Svallfors leads the project as its Principal Investigator (PI). The project uses mixed methods to investigate how local violent crime affects sexual and reproductive health outcomes in […]
Spain dismantles criminal network smuggling migrants from Algeria to the EU
The Spanish Guardia Civil, supported by Europol, dismantled a criminal network smuggling migrants by boats from Algeria to Spain and onwards to other EU countries. The network, led by a Moroccan national, was comprised of both Algerian and Moroccan suspects based in Spain. Their operations relied on significant financial and logistical resources, misusing legitimate businesses […]
Commission unveils anti-fraud revamp to protect the EU budget
Last July 16 the Commission has launched a structured reflection process for the review of the EU Anti-Fraud Architecture. The review complements the preparatory work on the next multiannual financial framework (MFF). Its aim is to ensure a strengthened and more efficient protection of the Union’s financial interests. The review of the EU Anti-Fraud Architecture […]
28 ‘Ndrangheta associates arrested for drug trafficking and violence
Europol has supported Italian law enforcement in dealing a heavy blow to the ‘Ndrangheta criminal organisation. In an action day conducted on 8 July 2025 across Italy, Spain and Albania, special intervention teams have arrested 28 suspected criminals of Italian and Albanian nationality. Among the individuals taken into custody is an Italian national from the […]
Two-way migrant smuggling network busted in France and Spain
Europol supported the French National Police (Police Nationale/OLTIM Perpignan) and the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional/UCRIF Central) in dismantling an organised criminal network smuggling migrants of Algerian and Moroccan origin from Spain to France as well as in the opposite direction, from the United Kingdom to Spain. In addition to the arrests made in Spain […]
Crypto fraud ring in Spain scammed 5,000 victims worldwide
On 25 June 2025, the Spanish Guardia Civil, with the support of Europol and law enforcement from Estonia, France and the United States of America, arrested five members of a criminal network engaged in cryptocurrency investment fraud. The investigation identified that the perpetrators had laundered EUR 460 million in illicit profits stolen through crypto investment […]
Encrypted app reveals criminal networks across Europe
Law enforcement authorities across Europe and Türkiye have dismantled four major criminal networks responsible for fuelling the flow of drugs into the EU and Türkiye, following a series of coordinated raids supported by Europol. These results were made possible by the continued exploitation of encrypted communication platforms, including Sky ECC and ANOM, which remain powerful […]
Preventing the abuse of biometric recognition technology
Europol’s tech experts team up with practitioners and academia to spearhead research against the potential exploitation of biometric identification systems. A new Europol report looks at the ubiquitous biometric recognition technology and its potential for exploitation by criminals. Biometric recognition technology is a trusted and reliable way to verify identities and is now widely used […]