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The European Investigator 2011
The European Investigator 2011
EuropeanPoliceOffice,2011 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Proofreading:JoGidney,Europol SpecialthankstoinvestigatorsHans-PeterSeewald,Bundespolizei,Innsbruck,Austria;PasqualeSorgon, PoliziadiStato,Pescara,Italy;andBernieGravett,MetropolitanPoliceForce,London,UK,fortheircontributions MoreinformationonEuropolisavailableathttp://www.europol.europa.eu
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
CONTENTS
I nt r o du ct io n
Op e ra t io n al a n a ly sis
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T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
INTRODUCTION
Haveyoueverhadaninvestigationthatcametoadeadend?Perhapstherewasamissing link?Allyourleadslednowhere?Haveyouhadcaseswhereyoursuspectwasworking withinternationalcriminalsacrosstheborder? Europol could have helped you in all of these cases. Europol supports investigators in the27EUcountriestopreventandcombatallformsofseriousinternationalcrimeand terrorism.Europolofficershavenodirectpowersofarrest.Theirtaskistosupportlaw enforcementcolleaguesworkingacrossEuropebygathering,analysinganddisseminatingcriminalintelligenceandcoordinatinginternationalpoliceoperations.Europols partnersusethisinputtoprevent,detectandinvestigatecrimes,andtotrackdownand prosecutethecriminals. EuropoldeliversauniquesetofoperationalservicesfortheEuropeanUnion,actingasthe: s upportcentreforlawenforcementoperations criminalinformationhuband centreforlawenforcementexpertise.
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
Andrzej Mitura
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS
From an Austrian investigator:
ThefirstreportcameintoourunitattheAustrian FederalPoliceinInnsbrucklateoneNovember evening.Ram-raidershadsmashedopenanelectrical retailer and got away with a large haul of electronic goods. Wesoonstartedtoseeapatternemerging,as fourAustrianelectronicsstoresfromthesame chainweresystematicallyrobbedinexactlythe sameway.Modusoperandi:Thegangtooka stolen vehicle and drove it right through the frontofthestore,sometimesfirstusingastone cuttertodestroytheprotectiveconcretebollardsoutsidetheshop.Duringtheram-raids, uptofivepeoplewouldrushintothestoreand, inunder90seconds,theywouldbagloadsof high-valueelectronicssuchascameras,mobilephones,notebooksandMP3players.Allof thisactionwascapturedbythein-storeCCTV cameras. Basedonevidencegathered,wesoonrealised thatweweredealingwithaLithuanianorganised criminalgroup.Thisinternationallinkprompted us to get Europol involved. We got straight in touch with our Europol national unit to start the process.Webegantheinformationexchangeby providing any intelligence we already had on the gangwhichincludeddataontheirLithuanian mobilephonesbeingusedinAustria.Thisdata wasfedintoEuropolsinformationsystemand Europolsanalysisreportcameback,tellingus therewerelinkstoBelgium,France,Italyand Sweden.Thesuspectshadbeenpolicechecked ontheroadandatbordercrossingsinseveral countriesluckily,theirIDandvehicledocu-
mentdatahadbeenrecordedinmanycases, makingitpossibleforusalltotapintothisinformationthroughEuropol. Europol then hosted an operational meeting where the affected police authorities could discussintelligence,tacticsandfutureoperations. TheLithuanianauthoritieswereobviouslyakey partofthisinternationalteamofinvestigators fromsixcountries. Intelligencerevealedthatthiscriminalgrouphad organiserswhowereinstructedbytheirLithuanianbossesastowhichshopstheyshouldtarget and what they should steal. The organisers wouldthentravelwiththeirsoldierstoselected countries and would visit the stores in advance tocheckthestorelayoutandexactlocationsof the goods they wanted. They carried out the ram-raidsinAustria,Belgium,France,Italyand Swedentargetingthesametwomultinational chainsofelectronicsshops.Thisganghadbeen responsibleforatleast20ram-raidsthroughout Europe,clockingupdamagesaloneestimatedto bearoundEUR1.5million. TheLithuanianauthoritiesgavethehighestprioritytosolvingthiscaseand,asaresult,we plannedourdayofactioninLithuaniaatacoordinationmeetinghostedbyEurojust.OneApril morning,55Lithuanianpoliceofficers,supported bycolleaguesfromAustriaandSweden,carried out16housesearchestocatchthesuspectsand gatherpotentialevidence.TwoEuropolofficers were on the spot to provide further support to the investigators.
Ram-raiders rob the shop and bag their loot in under 90 seconds.
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
We had a successful day of action, deliveringamajorblowagainstthegangbyputting 18peoplebehindbars.Thiswasaperfectexampleofhoweffectiveinternationalcooperation can be. E uropol, and its network of iaison officers, supports and builds trust l etweenEuropeanlawenforcementauthorities b
ANALYTICAL SUPPORT
100criminalanalysts,whoareamong thebesttrainedintheworldanduse state-of-the-art tools to uncover the activitiesofsomeofthemostdangerousorganisedcrimeandterrorist networks operating in Europe. The deAnalytical support can be provided remotelyfromEuropolpremises,or inthefield.AWFsofferavarietyof operational and strategic products whicharesharedamongparticipants. WithinanAWF,aspecifictargetgroup orJointInvestigationTeamcanbeset uptomeettheneedsofagroupof MemberStatesandtotackleacommoncriminalphenomenon. high-priorityseriouscrimeareasimpactingtheEuropeanUnion.
livery of this work takes place within the framework of an analysis work file(AWF).TheAWFisaninstrument uniquetoEuropol,inwhichanalysts worktogetherwithorganisedcrime Analysis is at the core of Europols activities. It employs more than and terrorism specialists to gather criminalintelligence.AWFscoverall
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
Rein Partel
SIENA
Third parties
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Dreamstime
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EUandnon-EUlawenforcementauthorities. They guarantee fast and effectivecooperationbasedonpersonalcontactandmutualtrust.The networkofEuropolliaisonofficersis auniqueplatformtogroupofficers fromover30countriestogetherina secureoperationalenvironment.The liaisonofficersactivelyparticipatein
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
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Toaidnationalinvestigators,Europolorganisesa preparatorymeetingwhichisattendedbyinvestigatorsfromBelgium,Germany,Estonia,France
MOBILE OFFICE
Themobileoffice,staffedbyEuropolexpertsandanalysts,canprovidesupportforawiderangeofactivities suchasongoinginvestigations,majorsportsevents, key international conferences and other occasions whereamobilisationofpolicecooperationisneededto provide security. The following services are provided: r eal-time,secureaccesstothedifferentEuropol computerisedanalysissystems;dataonpeopleand phonenumberscanbecheckedwhilethemobile officeisdeployed;theimmediateresultisinvaluable whenitcomestofast-movinginvestigations; t hepossibilitytodeliveron-the-spotanalyticalproductssuchasreports,chartsandotherdata; t hepossibilitytodeploymoremobileofficesforthe sameoperationinthecaseofsimultaneousarrests indifferentlocations; a satelliteconnectionthatincreasestheflexibility ofthesystem.
OPERATION MONET V
UndertheremitofOperationMonetV,liveanalytical supportwasprovidedviathemobileofficetoSpanishlawenforcementauthoritiesinGranCanaria.One Europolanalystwaspresentthroughouttheoperation, which targeted cash couriers within high-risk destinationenvironments.Asaresultoftheoperation,the GuardiaCivilseizedEUR402090,1.2kgofcocaine and other illicit products.
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
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T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
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Alexandra Wegner
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
Thedayofactionstartsat6a.m.andarrests take place all over Europe. The news starts to trickleinfromItaly,theNetherlandsandRo-
Europoldidntinterfere.Itsaid:The investigationisyours,notours.Itgaveusvaluablehelp, competentresourcesandapositiveattitude.We realisedthat,withoutassistancefromourpartnersacrossEurope,itwouldhavebeenimpossible to achieve such a spectacular result. There is one morepositiveoutcomeallCreieuroperational datawillbepooledinadedicatedEuropolanalysis workfile(AWF),whereitwillbeavailabletoassist all other ongoing and future investigations. Lookingback,itwasexcitingtoexperience such a well-coordinated law enforcement peration,especiallyforme,visitingthiscold o cityontheNorthSeacoastfrommysunny Italiantown.
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mania.Cooperationisexcellentandphonesare ringing.Wemanagetotrackdownsomecriminals who had disappeared. People who should havebeeninIrelandarenolongertherebut theycouldbeinBelgium.Inminutes,weare incontactwithaBelgianliaisonofficer.Hetells usthatthreepeoplearebeingheldandtwoare onthewantedlistsuccess!Morearearrested overthenexttwodays.Eventually,twothirdsof thewantedcriminalsareapprehended.Thisis internationalteamworkatitsbestwewould never have had this success without Europol and Eurojust.
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
Europol provides forensic and technical support in the following areas: paymentcardfraud euro counterfeiting and the production of counterfeit goods cybercrime dismantlingofillicitdrugproduction,storageanddumpsites.
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Europol supports an investigation of the largest illicit drug laboratory ever found in the Netherlands.
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
TheEuropeanUnionisasignificant region for the illicit production of syntheticdrugs,particularlyamphetamineandecstasy.Eachyeararound 60to90large-scaleproductionsites areidentified,seizedanddismantled. Storage sites for potentially dangerous precursorchemicalsusedinthedrug manufacturingprocessareoftendis-
photographicandtechnicalinformation onsyntheticdrugproduction,storage anddumpsites.Thisenablestheidentificationofmatchesbetweenseized equipment,materialsandchemicals. Inaddition,theEuropolSyntheticDrug System(ESDS)includesinformation on modus operandi and significant seiz res.Thisenablestheidentification u ofmatchesbetweenseizuresandhelps toprofileandtargetcriminalgroups. TheEuropolSpecificMeansofConcealment(ESMC)containsinformationon the concealment methods used to transport cocaine.
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coveredduringinvestigationsinMemberStates.Europolexpertshelptodismantleillicitproductionsitessecurely and collect evidence. They also carry outtechnicalinvestigationsoncustommadeandindustrialequipmentseized in production and storage units. TheEuropolIllicitLaboratoryComparisonSystem(EILCS)comprisesdetailed
Sample of photographic data stored in the Europol ESDS/ESMC: concealment of cocaine using animals.
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
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T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
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Fotolia
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
OPERATION GOLF
Operation Golf: A Romanian village where criminals source children for trafficking.
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humantraffickingringsinEurope.The gangsspecificallyexploitchildrenwho areforcedtoroutinelybegandsteal acrosstheUKandtherestofEurope. This operation is in partnership with theCrownProsecutionService,theRomanianNationalPolice,theUKHuman TraffickingCentre,EuropolandEurojust.ThepartnershipisaformalJoint InvestigationTeam(JIT)underEUlaw andwasthefirstsuchJITaddressing thistypeofcrimeinEurope. OperationGolfachievedthefirstconvictionintheUKforboththetraffickingofachildforcriminalexploitation andinternaltraffickingwithintheUK. Fourmembersoftheorganisedcrime networkweresentencedtoatotalof24 yearsinprison.OperationGolfhasbeen DetectiveSuperintendentBernieGravett,theseniorinvestigatingofficerat theMetropolitanPolice,says:TheJIT legislationhassomanybenefitsforinsuccessful in receiving funding support fromtheEuropeanCommission,largely duetotheuniqueworkbeingcarried outbytheJointInvestigationTeam.
In contrast, the villa of one of the criminal traffickers.
ternationalinvestigations.Theabilityto deployRomanianofficersalongsidemy own during searches and arrests proved invaluable.Theyhaveconductedcriminalinterviewswithmyinvestigators, andinadditiontheyareabletoeasily recognisefalsedocumentsandgather intelligence that a UK police officer wouldhavemissed.Theformationof aJITisrecommendedforanycountry thatintendstomountaproactiveoperationtobringoffenderstojustice.
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
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T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
Kristian Berlin
T h e e u r o p e a n I n v e s T I g aT o r ta r g e t i n g c r i m i n a l s a c r o s s b o r d e r s
QL-30-09-276-EN-C