An international police operation codenamed "First Light 2026" has concluded with record-breaking results. From January 15 to April 30, 2026, law enforcement officers from 97 countries and territories conducted coordinated raids, resulting in the arrest of 5,811 individuals. The total value of intercepted illegal assets amounted to $293 million. However, the most striking discovery was the cryptocurrency wallet of one of the suspects—through which over $122.5 million passed in just 10 months.
Cryptocurrency trail at the heart of the investigation
Of particular interest to me as an analyst is the Thai branch of this case. Local police arrested two suspects who had organized a complex money laundering scheme. Funds from so-called "romantic" scams—where victims are convinced they are in love and then tricked into sending money—were converted into cryptocurrency. To obscure the trail, the criminals actively used cross-chain swaps (inter-network token exchanges). It was the wallet of one suspect, a 20-year-old man, that showed a turnover of $122.5 million.
A separate incident was recorded in Palau. There, 22 people were deported who had been working in two fraudulent centers disguised as hotels. Using cryptocurrency and illegal gambling websites, they targeted victims in other countries, managing a whole range of online schemes.
Scale and mechanisms
Overall, during the operation, 152,808 cases were analyzed, 31,014 bank accounts were frozen, and 23,715 cases were solved. Notable is the case in Eswatini (Swaziland), where 82 people were arrested. There, 240 electronic devices and an entire organization disguised as a Brazilian police station with fake uniforms and equipment were seized. Posing as the Federal Police of Brazil, the scammers convinced victims to transfer funds "for safekeeping."
An effective tool was Interpol's I-GRIP emergency payment blocking mechanism. With its help, authorities in Singapore and Oman blocked an illegal transfer of $6.6 million related to business email compromise.
My professional opinion: This operation sends a clear signal to the market. Criminals have switched to professional tools like cross-chain swaps, but regulators are also adapting. Blockchain transparency, despite all the tricks, remains their main vulnerability. Investors should remember: if a scheme promises easy money through social media or a "romantic" acquaintance, it is almost a guaranteed red flag.