INTERPOL, Europol, and WCO drive a major global art trafficking crackdown, seizing over 37,700 stolen artifacts and exposing traffickers’ digital tactics amid rising cybercrime threats to cultural heritage 

Operation Pandora IX (2024), coordinated by Spain with support from INTERPOL, Europol, and the WCO led to the seizure of 37,727 cultural items and 80 arrests across 23 countries. The operation targeted the illicit trafficking of artworks, archaeological relics, coins, and musical instruments, exposing how criminal networks increasingly exploit e-commerce platforms and social media to trade looted cultural goods—highlighting the rising threat of cyber-enabled financial crime linked to cultural heritage trafficking…