Latvian Police played a leading role in a major international operation to break a large-scale organized cybercrime ring.
Crime
On 12 October, to mark EU Anti-trafficking Day, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are launching a joint information and awareness-raising campaign for the autumn of 2020.
The number of serious crimes is increasing in Latvia, so the responsible authorities are discussing improving the effectiveness of the police, Latvian Radio reported September 30.
Saeima is discussing whether the penalties for storage and use of soft drugs should be changed and decriminalized, Latvian Radio reported September 29.
In Latvia, there is still a relatively high tolerance within society towards smuggling goods, according to a survey by study center SKDS, Latvian Television reported September 23.
From 2013 to 2019, the average amount of bribes offered, promised or given was between €20 000 and €30 000, the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) told LETA September 22.
Murdered lawyer Pāvels Rebenoks, advisor to former Economics Minister Ralfs Nemiro, has been bludgeoned to death, said State Police (VP) September 21.
Saturday night, police said high-profile lawyer Pāvels Rebenoks had been found murdered in his home. Police now have confirmed an injured person in the case, Rebenoks' business partner Ingus Balandins, Latvian Television reported September 20.
Pāvels Rebenoks, a lawyer and until recently an adviser to the former Minister of Economics Ralfs Nemiro (KPV LV), died on Saturday night, in what is believed to be a case of murder, Latvian Television reported September 20.
The municipal transport company in the Latvian capital, Rīga, paid out millions of euros in consultancy fees to individuals with dubious expertise and many of whom had clear connections to the political parties then in control of the capital, LTV's De Facto investigative show reported September 13.
Niks Endziņš, accused of spreading fake news, regrets his post on Facebook to "eliminate the Chinese". The criminal case will continue to be reviewed in October, Latvian Television reported on September 7.
The Internal Security Bureau (IDB) detained and later released the Chief of State Border Guard Guntis Pujāts, according to LETA information September 4.
Nightclubs have bypassed the restrictions regarding COVID-19 by disguising parties and creating passwords for visitors, Juris Šulte, chief of the Riga Regional Council of the State Police, said September 2.
Safe deposit boxes in the name of murdered attorney Mārtiņš Bunkus were emptied of their contents following his death, according to claims in the news weekly Ir, reported by the LETA newswire.
Ventspils former mayor Aivars Lembergs, suspended in connection with the sanctions imposed on him last year, turned to the US court against the US Treasury's Office for Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and its head, said the Minister of Justice Jānis Bordāns (New Conservative Party) on Latvian Television Thursday, August 20.
Riga Regional Court, in the so-called criminal case of Aivars Lembergs, has removed the lawyer Rudolf Meroni from the storage of the property arrested in criminal proceedings, according to Latvian Television information published August 17.
This year, in Latgale, the Eastern part of Latvia, eight marijuana farms of varying sizes have been found, Latvian Radio said August 7.
Officials of the State Police have removed a significant amount of firearms, their essential components, explosives and explosive devices from an illegal group discovered several months ago, State Police said July 27.
Finance Latvia Association said July 21 that an educational campaign "Viedpircējs" (Smart shopper) has been launched to raise public awareness of safety when shopping online.
The National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP) has started two administrative cases in the last month regarding the non-compliance of the TV channel PBK with the basic conditions of broadcasting authorization, Latvian Television reported on July 3.
On Wednesday, July 1, the new Administrative Liability Law entered into force, taking the place of the Code of Administrative Violations, issued in 1985, Latvian Television reported on July 1.
A malicious app has appeared in app stores with an identical visual design as that of supermarket chain Maxima Latvija, the company informed on June 29.
Alcohol smuggling is not extensive in Latvia, and the situation with illegal cigarette rates is improving, the Director of the State Revenue Service (VID) Tax and Customs Police Board, General Kaspars Podiņš, told Latvian Radio on June 26.
In June, the Tax and Customs Police Board of the State Revenue Service (VID) opened criminal proceedings against a group of persons engaged in the illicit manufacture, storage, transfer and possible sale of alcoholic beverages, made out of disinfectants, VID said on June 26.
The Tax and Customs Police Board of the State Revenue Service (VID) opened criminal proceedings in May this year regarding untaxed cash payments in a construction industry company, VID informed the media in a statement on June 25.
On Saturday, June 13, one of the largest law enforcement searches in Latvia's history took place in ABLV Bank-related addresses, Latvian Television reported on June 13.
Over the past two years, at least 10 warehouses of trading and production businesses have been robbed, representatives said in a media statement on June 2.
Latvian Television reported on June 1 that half a year after revealing the system for illegal cigarette trade in the Riga Central Market, changes to law have still not been adopted but traders have started to renew the industry.
Mikrotīkls (known abroad as MikroTik) IT company says 2018 fire in warehouse was linked to a massive robbery, Latvian Television reported on May 29.
On May 12, businessman Gulam Gulami was detained by the State Police, reported Latvian Television May 13.