Yesterday, in the very early hours of the morning, judicial and law enforcement authorities in Italy and Germany launched a joint operation (Operation LAST DAY) against an international gang of armed robbers, of Italian and Albanian origin. They are suspected of carrying out several heavily armed robberies in Italy, mostly against cash-in-transit (CIT) armoured vehicles or banks, and were also suspected of planning a major robbery in Germany.
18 individuals were arrested and more than 30 premises were searched as a result of the joint operations. This successful joint operation was the result of close coordination between the judicial and law enforcement authorities of Italy and Germany, with the support of Eurojust.
Eurojust organised two coordination meetings, in July and September 2017, during which the involved judicial and law enforcement authorities exchanged the results of their investigative activities and agreed on a common strategy to collect evidence and, at the same time, protect the public from the dangers of a possible armed action by the criminal group.
In preparation for today’s joint operations, Eurojust assisted the judicial authorities of Italy and Germany in swiftly exchanging operational information collected on the ground and drafting several European Investigation Orders, one of the newest and most effective tools to enhance judicial cooperation in the fight against transnational organised crime and terrorism.