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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. (Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Alex Richardson)