Latvia Detains 11 Fraud "Money Mules" and Couriers in October
Latvia's State Police have detained 11 people in October who acted as couriers or "money mules" for phone and cyber fraudsters. In one case, a couple lost €67,690 and three bank cards.
The State Police of Latvia have detained 11 people this month who worked as cash couriers or so-called "money mules" in fraud schemes. They met victims, took their cash and bank cards, unlawfully used other people's payment instruments and laundered criminally obtained funds. Police stress that such involvement is a serious crime carrying long prison terms.
Who was detained
Those held include teenagers who are either still minors or only recently adults, as well as a man of pension age who also committed offences abroad.
On 14 October, the police Cybercrime Combating Unit detained a courier born in 1959. He had been offered a job at an apparently foreign company, but never met his employer; his duties included collecting and transporting cash belonging to other people. The case is linked to a fraudulent investment platform: in July this year, social media carried AI-generated videos and images in which state officials appeared to promote lucrative investments. An organised criminal group hired the courier to collect cash from victims and deliver it to specified addresses, including outside Latvia.
The Cybercrime Combating Unit also detained four "money mules" in October.
Couple lose €67,690
A man born in 1976 and his wife reported to the Riga Pārdaugava police department that between 12 and 14 October phone fraudsters had taken €67,690 and three bank cards from them. The scammers called several times, first posing as a bank employee and then as a police officer, falsely claiming criminal activity was occurring in the bank account. The victims sent their cards and cash withdrawn from their accounts via parcel lockers.
The investigation led to four detentions in Riga and Olaine of people born in 2009, 2007, 1997 and 1994. The organisers had sought mules through the Telegram app. €2,900 was found on one of them. On 26 October, in a separate case, a young man born in 2002 was detained as he arrived to collect money from another victim.
On 21 October, the Riga Eastern police department detained a courier born in 2008 who had taken €2,300 in late September from a woman born in 1957.
Penalties
Fraud on a large scale or by an organised group carries two to ten years in prison, while laundering criminally obtained funds carries three to 12 years, in both cases with or without confiscation of property.
