European police uncover €300 million mobile phone fraud scheme

Police have carried out raids in 19 European countries over suspected fraud involving the online sale of mobile phones, with the damage estimated at around €300 million, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) press service announced.

According to the agency, criminal organisations sold more than 1 million used mobile phones while passing them off as new.

One of the alleged criminal organisations reportedly assembled mobile phones from used components in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates before shipping them to the Netherlands after cleaning and packaging them as new devices. The phones were then transported to warehouses in Germany and sold to end consumers across the EU through online marketplaces.

As a result of the operation, seven suspects, including two alleged leaders of the organisation, were arrested in Austria, Germany and Spain.

By Jeyhun Aghazada