According to the State Police sources, Europol coordinated the investigation, facilitated the exchange of information and provided analytical and forensic support. Europol also funded the deployment of Albanian State Police officers, who engaged on the day of operation in Spain.

As part of the crackdown on smugglers operating abroad, 46 people have been arrested in Spain.

“Criminal rings facilitated the illegal entry of more than 400 citizens from the Western Balkans into the United Kingdom and the United States,” the police statement said.

The investigation was spearheaded by the Spanish National Police, in close cooperation with the Albanian Police and law enforcement and immigration authorities in Austria, France, Italy, Slovenia, Kosovo, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States, and supported by Europol, with officers instructed to dismantle a syndicate of organized crime involved in migrant smuggling and document fraud.

Also, falsified documents, financial documentation, records of illegal activities, electronic devices, money and various drugs were seized as material evidence.

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