Europol has announced the successful dismantling of a large-scale cybercrime network that defrauded thousands of victims across Europe. The operation, conducted by Latvian police in cooperation with Austria, Estonia, Europol, and Eurojust, led to the arrest of seven suspects.
The joint investigation reached its peak on October 10, when coordinated raids were carried out in multiple countries. According to Europol, the arrested individuals are believed to be responsible for over 1,700 cyber fraud cases in Austria and 1,500 in Latvia, with an estimated financial loss of nearly €5 million — including €4.5 million in Austria and €420,000 in Latvia.
The large-scale operation, dubbed “SIMCARTEL,” uncovered a sophisticated criminal infrastructure built around the use of SIM cards for fraudulent activities. Authorities seized around 1,200 SIM devices and 40,000 active SIM cards, which were allegedly used to carry out scams, extortion, and other cybercrimes.
“Other criminal offenses facilitated by this service included fraud, extortion, migrant smuggling, and the distribution of child sexual abuse material,” Europol said in an official statement.
This operation marks one of the largest cross-border crackdowns on cyber-enabled fraud in recent years, highlighting the growing cooperation between EU law enforcement agencies in combating organized digital crime.
