As part of Operation Stargrew, Gardaí, in conjunction with Europol and other international Law Enforcement Agencies, conducted 12 searches at locations across counties Dublin, Kildare and Waterford between Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th April 2024.
During these searches, €42,000 in cash, €10,000 in cryptocurrency, 82 smartphones, 25 computers, 9 tablet devices, and a Rolex watch were seized.
The searches were led by Gardaí from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB), with assistance from Gardaí at the Armed Support Unit, Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau, Garda National Immigration Bureau, Garda Dog Unit, Gardaí seconded to the Special Investigation Unit at the Department of Social Protection, the Criminal Assets Bureau, and local units in the DMR West and DMR South Divisions.
Operation Stargrew targets individuals suspected to be involved in organized fraud, where bulk "Phishing” or "Smishing” text messages are sent out, which are designed to deceive people into providing their personal data and credentials for the purposes of fraud. Many of these purport to be from banks and service providers. This week under Operation Stargrew, law enforcement from 19 countries severely disrupted one of the world’s largest phishing-as-a-service platform, known as LabHost. This year-long operation, coordinated at the international level by Europol, resulted in the compromise of LabHost’s infrastructure. The LabHost platform, previously available on the open web, has been shut down, and now displays a law enforcement splash page.
The Irish operation, co-ordinated by the GNECB, was carried out jointly with Europol, and other Law Enforcement Agencies from participating EU and Non-EU countries.
Two males were arrested during the course of the operation. One of the males arrested has been charged, and will appear before the courts at a later date.
