800 arrested worldwide in huge crime sting: Europol

Police arrested 800 people in a huge global sting involving encrypted phones used by criminals that were secretly planted by law enforcement agencies, the EU police agency Europol said Tuesday.

"This information led over the last week to hundreds of law enforcement operations on a global scale from New Zealand to Australia to Europe and the USA, with impressive results," Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, Deputy Director Operations at Europol, told a press conference.

"More than 800 arrests, more than 700 locations searched, more than 8 tonnes of cocaine."