The suspects engaged in virtual romantic relationships with women, whom they convinced to hand over sums of money under various pretexts.
In total, according to a police statement, they swindled millions of euros out of around 20 people across Europe.
Operation Marine began after an investigation in Alicante, where a million-dollar scam was carried out under the same guise. The organisation led the victim to believe for years that she was involved in a cyber-relationship with a US soldier who managed to swindle her out of 835,000 euros.
To get the money, the fake marine used all sorts of pretexts and excuses to ask for money, such as payment of fees, certificates, plane tickets, security for his life or bribes.
The victim gave him all her savings, even going so far as to apply for personal loans to get more money to transfer to him, carrying out 75 bank transfers, mostly to Malaysia, Indonesia and Spain.
Out of desperation, the victim sent him a package via a courier company, containing a large amount of cash. The police tracked the victim’s money for months, concluding that they were dealing with a criminal organisation made up of cybercriminals specialised in online fraud throughout Europe.
The…
