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Authorities in the U.S. and Europe say they've coordinated on one of the largest dark web drug busts in history. The coordinated police operation, dubbed “Dark HunTor,” involved a large number of law enforcement agencies, including the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Europol, and various other U.S. entities, including the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Postal Service. So far, “HunTor” has resulted in the arrest of 150 people worldwide, as well as the seizure of some $31.6 million from both cash and digital currencies (aka Bitcoin and other cryptos). Police say that they have also seized approximately 234 kilograms of narcotics.......

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party began its preparations for a Europe without Angela Merkel on Monday with the launch of its new vision for May’s European Parliament elections. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer appeared as head of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which for once looked happy to present a united front with its Bavarian partners, the Christian Social Union (CSU). […] The key note of the afternoon was clear: the European People’s Party (EPP), the center-right European parliamentary group that the CDU/CSU belongs to, is the only guarantor of stability in the European Union. To underline this, [Manfred] Weber drew attention to...

Europol signed a strategic agreement with the Israel Police on Tuesday, marking the first-ever working agreement signed between the European Union criminal intelligence agency and a non-EU country. The agreement was signed in The Hague by Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich and Catherine De Bolle, Executive Director of Europol. The signing of the “Police to Police” agreement followed intensive discussions and a vote at the Europol headquarters which was unanimously approved by 28 representatives of member countries. Europol said in a press release that the agreement will be important for tackling priority crime areas affecting both the European Union and...

Actually, Europol hardly needed to issue its warning today, because ISIS beat them to the punch. The terrorist quasi-state published a 17-minute video showing some of the perpetrators of the Paris attack preparing for their mass slaughter by beheading and shooting prisoners in Syria. They issued an explicit threat against the UK, and in particular Prime Minister David Cameron: The 17-minute video shows the extent of the planning that went into the multiple attacks in Paris, which French authorities have said from the beginning was planned in Syria. The video was provided online by the SITE Intelligence Group, which...

The European Commission has proposed to make it easier to ban “legal highs” and for countries to jail people who ignore the bans. Legal highs are chemicals which replicate the effects of illicit drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy or marijuana. … So far, EU countries have banned just nine substances on the basis of European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) recommendations. One reason for the low number is the long time it takes—around two years—for the EU process to work. But under Tuesday’s proposals, the ECMDDA and the EU’s joint police body, Europol, in the Hague, can...

Theresa May pledged yesterday to boycott Brussels plans for an EU prosecutor and “European police force”. The Home Secretary said the UK will not participate in a proposal to create a prosecutor with jurisdiction to pursue cases across the European Union. And she said Britain would oppose any move to expand the Europol system of cooperation into a Europe-wide police force. Her intervention comes as ministers brace themselves for a Tory rebellion tonight over plans to keep Britain in the controversial EU arrest warrant system. …

The EU police agency in The Hague, Europol, is to see its powers expand and its performance put under stronger oversight under a European Commission proposal set out on Wednesday (27 March). The draft regulation would require member states to feed the agency more data and to enhance their cooperation in cross-border crimes and investigations. … The commission now wants to turn Europol into a hub for information-sharing and analysis on serious crimes. The reform should include police training, says the Brussels executive. For its part, the London-based civil liberties group Statewatch has in the past voiced reservations on how...

British defense minister Philip Hammond has confirmed reports the UK will seek to end participation in dozens of EU-level crime-fighting structures. Several British newspapers on Sunday (14 October) predicted that home affairs minister Theresa May will in parliament on Monday say the government is "minded to" opt out of some 130 EU justice and home affairs programs. The list includes the European Arrest Warrant and the European criminal records information system, as well as future schemes to create an EU-level public prosecutor and a European investigation order, a protocol on EU countries' exchange of evidence in criminal cases. Under the...

The EU wants to work closer with the United States' Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to help plug gaps on protection against cyber crime—a sector worth €388 billion a year in illegal revenue worldwide. "To overcome this growing global threat, EU-US cooperation is not a choice, but a necessity," EU home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmström told US officials and policy experts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington on Wednesday (2 May). "I am convinced that in the coming months and years we will be able to report back to our citizens on many...

LONDON (AP) - In the wake of Norway's terrorist attack, the European police agency is setting up a task force of more than 50 experts to help northern European countries investigate non-Islamic terror threats, its spokesman told The Associated Press on Saturday. Soeren Pedersen said the group, which is based in The Hague, hopes to help Norway and nearby countries in their investigations in the coming weeks. He said Norway has not requested forensic experts but that Europol could provide them if needed. READ MORE... http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9OLGBG82&show_article=1

Note: The following text is a quote: INTERPOL media release 16 December 2009 Europol and INTERPOL agree to enhance co-operation for the benefit of their member states THE HAGUE, The Netherlands – The Secretary General of INTERPOL, Ronald K. Noble, visited Europol today to discuss the enhanced co-operation between the two organizations. The meeting focused on the development of new ideas for future joint actions which will make use of the complementary strengths of both organizations. Both organizations are ideally placed to join forces for a global police response to serious crime and terrorism. Mr. Noble and Rob Wainwright, the...

"Europol Report Describes Afghanistan-Pakistan Connection to Trends in European Terrorism" Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 7 Issue: 12 May 8, 2009 04:03 PM By: Thomas Renard SNIPPET: "Terrorist activities within the European Union (EU) declined in 2008 as compared to the previous year, according to the annual report published by Europol, the European Union’s criminal intelligence agency. [1] The report lists 515 failed, foiled or successful attacks reported by EU member states, a decrease from 583 attacks in 2007 but still higher than the 2006 total. The decline in terrorist activities was also observed geographically, with only seven member states reporting...

Since the April 2004 Madrid bombing, EU countries have sought to improve EU-wide coordination and cooperation in combating terrorism. They focused on strengthening judicial cooperation and ties between their various national intelligence, investigative, justice, and police agencies. A special coordinator, Gijs de Vries, was appointed to oversee this task. But, while some significant improvements have been made, its still pretty much old hat when in come to dealing with terrorism and cross border criminal activities. Each country still does its own thing. And cross border judicial cooperation continues to be slow and burdensome. EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini, complained in...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Shocked into action by the Madrid train attacks, European leaders have turned to a relatively unknown police agency, Europol, in their search for new tools against terrorism. The European criminal intelligence organization is adding 20 anti-terrorism specialists and is already closely involved in 15 international anti-terror investigations, Europol director Juergen Storbeck said in an interview with The Associated Press. The 5-year-old agency also is thinking of introducing a U.S.-style color-coded alert system to issue warnings about potential terrorist attacks, Storbeck said Wednesday. Last week, officials from 25 countries meeting at Europol headquarters in this Dutch...

A letter bomb has been intercepted and defused at the Dutch headquarters of the European Union's police agency, Europol. It is the third letter bomb sent to prominent EU figures or bodies in as many days. A government official in The Hague said staff at Europol alerted the bomb squad after they became suspicious about the package. Police are investigating the incident. Europol handles criminal intelligence and assists EU states in fighting organised crime. Earlier on Monday, European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet was sent a suspected letter bomb and on Saturday a parcel exploded in European Commission President Romano...

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A letter bomb was intercepted on Monday at the Dutch headquarters of the European Union's police agency, Europol, and was deactivated before it caused any damage. The letter bomb was the third sent to prominent EU figures or bodies in three days. "The letter bomb was delivered at the Europol head office in The Hague but their staff was suspicious about it," spokeswoman Astrid Rijsdorp of the public prosecutor's office in The Hague told Reuters. "They warned the bomb squad who defused it in time and nobody got injured," she said. Rijsdorp said police were investigating the...

Friday, March 28, 2003 US Watchdog Group Files Nuclear Charges Against Chirac French President Jacques Chirac is guilty of illegal proliferation of nuclear technology and arms trafficking, a judicial watchdog group charges. Judicial Watch has filed legal complaints against the French chief executive with both Interpol and European Police Office (Europol), and is demanding an investigation of the blockbuster charges of massive corruption. Judicial Watch said it had filed complaints "for the unlawful proliferation of nuclear technology, the unlawful trafficking of arms and military technology, and the violation of UN trade sanctions imposed after the 1991 Gulf War, as well...