Domestic
Raids in EU Investigation into Gang Selling Old Smartphones as New
The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) reported that raids conducted across the Netherlands and eighteen other European countries targeted a criminal organization suspected of defrauding people of over 300 million euros by selling refurbished smartphones as new. Seven suspects, including two alleged leaders, were arrested in Austria, Germany, and Spain during an operation involving 1,770 agents that began on Saturday. The EPPO stated that the gang sold approximately one million old phones made from used parts in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates, which were shipped to the Netherlands and then to a German department store for online sale. The investigation, led by the Dutch Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD), was triggered by a fraud report and revealed potential losses of 30 million euros in VAT, with the group possibly using shell companies in several European nations.
Ozetta summarises; the reporting is the newsroom's