Last year, the Latvian-led FIDR project, aimed at combating organized crime, successfully concluded. Building on the achievements of this project and the growing global challenges, a continuation of this project, FIDR Advanced, has been launched under the leadership of the Latvian State Police, with even more ambitious goals in the fight against international organized crime. In February of this year, the new project was officially launched and presented to law enforcement representatives from various countries around the world at an international conference at Europol in The Hague.
In 2024, a unique international project led by the Latvian State Police, FIDR, concluded, with the primary objectives of strengthening countries' capabilities to combat organized crime – drug smuggling and money laundering. During the project, innovative methods and technical solutions were implemented to effectively combat organized criminal groups.
Although, due to its specifics, it is not possible to publicly disclose exactly how the FIDR project works and what this innovative tool is, over three years, the project has enabled the implementation of more than 50 cross-border operations throughout Europe and supported more than 20 joint international investigations, thereby allowing the identification of criminal networks and the exposure of illegal money flows. In total, 72 individuals were detained during the project, and the total amount of confiscated drugs exceeded 8.2 tons, with an illegal market value measured in hundreds of millions.
FIDR Advanced Project
The project "Application of Innovative and Proactive Tools to Combat High-Level Serious and Organized Crime Groups and Money Laundering Networks in the EU," or the "FIDR Advanced project," was launched in January 2025 with a significantly larger budget than the previous project – 2.3 million euros, most of which is planned to be allocated to operational costs. The project duration is two years and is funded by the European Commission.
Latvia is the leader of this project, while the main project partners are 🇱🇹 Lithuania, 🇪🇪 Estonia, and Europol. The project brings together law enforcement agencies from several countries, with 32 member states, including third countries, already involved.
"We have received a lot of positive feedback from our partners about the first FIDR project, and its results clearly demonstrated that it was effective and had a real impact in the fight against complex organized crime networks. However, we did not stop there – we are moving forward and further strengthening our capabilities. The FIDR Advanced project is an essential tool that will help implement the European Union's priorities in the fight against organized crime. I am confident that with FIDR Advanced, we can combat organized crime faster, smarter, and more effectively. Criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated, but we will not let them win. Today, we are taking a significant step to make our countries and the world safer," says Chief of the State Police Armands Ruks.
It is important to highlight that during the FIDR Advanced launch conference, a bilateral meeting was also held between the Chief of the State Police, General Armands Ruks, and the Executive Director of Europol, Ms. Catherine De Bolle. They discussed the growing cooperation between the Latvian State Police and Europol in preventing and combating cross-border organized crime, including new trends and Europol's increasing support and coordination role in the future. Ms. De Bolle congratulated the Chief of the State Police on the launch of the FIDR Advanced project and Latvia's leading role in it, which marks a new approach to the effective prevention and combating of cross-border serious and organized crime, particularly money laundering.
The project "Application of Innovative and Proactive Tools to Combat High-Level Serious and Organized Crime Groups and Money Laundering Networks in the EU," or the "FIDR Advanced project," was launched based on the Grant Agreement concluded between the State Police and the European Commission within the framework of the 2021-2027 Internal Security Fund – Police Cooperation program.
More photos and information in Latvian: https://www.vp.gov.lv/lv/jaunums/latvijas-policijas-vadiba-turpinas-cina-pret-starptautisko-organizeto-noziedzibu-ar-projektu-fidr-advanced?fbclid=IwY2xjawI1Gm9leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHS1ZrzmQ7A-jwCdnoKb8B1fggVSbKaDmYGZrDQ3Zok7IerMzAVN7fYteAQ_aem_0lcbIN1wgb3SIg5SsM6MYg
