AMSTERDAM - Officials from Europol, the FBI, Sweden and the Netherlands on Tuesday gave details of the European leg of a global sting in which criminals were given phones that allowed law enforcement officials to listen in on their conversations.
Europol Deputy Executive Director Jean-Phillipe Lecouffe said that in all, law enforcement from 16 countries had arrested more than 800 suspects, seizing more than $48 million in cash and cryptocurrencies.
The officials did not break down all arrests in each country, but a Swedish official said 70 had been arrested in Sweden and a Dutch official said 49 were arrested in the Netherlands.
Countries involved included Australia, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Norway, New Zealand, Scotland, Britain, Germany, and the U.S., Lecouffe said.