More than a hundred people have been arrested by Spanish and Italian authorities for allegedly laundering money for mafia groups.

The majority of the 106 arrests took place in the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife and most of the suspects were Italian nationals, Europol said.

The suspects allegedly made millions through online scams and laundered money for mafia groups.

106 arrested in an operation against online fraud. #Europol supported @policia and @poliziadistato to dismantle this criminal group linked to the Italian mafia.

🏦 118 bank accounts frozen
💳 224 credit cards and point-of-sale terminals seized
More👉 https://t.co/yoiVWkCpAX pic.twitter.com/CzOMJ2n6s6

According to Italian officials, the suspects tricked victims into sending large amounts of money to Spanish bank accounts controlled by the group.

The cash was then laundered through cryptocurrency purchases or reinvested into other criminal activities such as prostitution, drugs or weapons trafficking.

The group made almost €10m (£8.6m) in profit last year, Europol said.

Spanish officials said members of the group, who often used violence to intimidate victims and extort money from businesses and individuals, infiltrated law firms and banks.

During the operation, authorities froze 118 bank accounts and seized 224 credit cards and a marijuana plantation.

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