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Broader operation
The European Union’s criminal intelligence body has revealed a recent controversial bust of a Stockholm poker tournament by armed police is linked to a bigger law enforcement operation executed in Sweden and Spain.
coordinated strike in both Murcia and Stockholm
According to a Tuesday news release from Europol, a coordinated strike in both Murcia and Stockholm between November 28 and 29 targeted a violent, illegal gambling-tied criminal network based in the latter city.
The action split a force of almost 150 police officers to swoop on six premises in Sweden and two in southeastern Spain, arresting three key suspects in Stockholm, and other two in Murcia.
Cash, drugs, watches seized
Europol also revealed that police from the Spanish National Police and the Swedish Police Authority seized cash, luxury watches, and “several hundred thousand euros’ worth of valuables” in the raids.
In addition, the crime intelligence body disclosed that the raid on the low-stakes poker club that caused such a stir on social media, netted “drugs prepared for resale and found signs of possible human trafficking.”
Europol added the group the strike targeted is thought to run a major illegal gambling and money laundering operation, and is linked to drug trafficking in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries “reinforcing its presence in local and regional criminal markets.”
Known trouble
According to Europol, the suspects arrested are at the center of a local criminal gang renowned “for its use of violence and intimidation.” The EU body said the gang’s methods allowed it to “secure revenues, enforce debts” and control parts of Stockholm’s illicit gambling market.
Police estimate the group’s estimated annual turnover from illegal gambling was €20m ($23m), while it also laundered money for itself and other criminal elements, and trafficked drugs.
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