Europol says 800 arrested worldwide in huge crime sting

Police arrested 800 people in a huge global sting involving encrypted phones used by criminals that were secretly planted by law enforcement agencies, the EU police agency Europol said Tuesday.

"This information led over the last week to hundreds of law enforcement operations on a global scale from New Zealand to Australia to Europe and the USA, with impressive results," Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, Deputy Director Operations at Europol, told a press conference.

"More than 800 arrests, more than 700 locations searched, more than 8 tonnes of cocaine."

More than 100 "threats to life" were prevented by a huge global crime sting involving encrypted phones that were secretly planted by law enforcement agencies, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation said Tuesday.

"Over the last 18 months the FBI provided criminal organisations with over 300 encrypted devices in over 100 countries that allowed us to monitor their communications," FBI Assistant Director Calvin Shivers told reporters at Europol's HQ in The Hague.

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"Not only have we heard about the number of arrests and the number of seizures, but over 100 threats to life that were mitigated," added Shivers.