An EU-level law enforcement operation targeting counterfeit medicines carried out in 2025 resulted in 40 organised crime groups investigated, 500 arrests and 3,300 criminal charges.

Omissions

• The exact figure of '40 organised crime groups' does not match the figure reported by the source retrieved, which states 43 organised crime groups were investigated.
• The figure of 3,300 criminal charges could not be independently confirmed in the accessible sources; only the operation's existence, the ~500 arrests and the ~43 organised crime groups were corroborated.
• The operation is identified as Operation SHIELD VI (April–November 2025), coordinated by Europol and supported by EUIPO, covering 30 European countries — context the speaker did not provide.
• The EUIPO source is a supporting EU agency report of a Europol-coordinated operation; the exact numeric breakdown per category may vary between official communications.

Sources

• PrimaryEUIPO — EUIPO supports major Europe-wide action against counterfeit medicinesCarried out between April and November 2025, the operation brought together authorities from 30 European countries. It led to nearly 500 arrests, more than ...
• Secondaryeucrim — Successful Crackdown on Pharmaceutical Crime: Operation SHIELD VIA total of 907 investigations were launched, 43 organised crime groups were investigated, and 66 websites were taken down.