The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Detective Chief Inspector announced Tuesday that the PSNI arrested seven suspects in connection to a £215 international money laundering scheme.

The PSNI conducted 15 raids between Monday and Tuesday in five different localities across Northern Ireland. The International Criminal Police Organization and the European Police Force coordinated with the PSNI to identify more than 50 companies and 140 bank accounts associated with the scheme. The PSNI additionally coordinated efforts with local law enforcement and national law enforcement agencies including: the Garda Economic Crime Bureau, National Economic CRIME Centre, Criminal Assets Bureau, National Crime Agency, United Kingdom Financial Investigation Unit and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to conduct the country-wide operation.

Authorities report that the launderers deposited money into thousands of bank accounts across and outside of the UK and speculate that the majority of the money originated from criminal activity. The Detective Chief Inspector assured the public of the PSNI’s commitment to fighting organized crime and money laundering schemes:

Money laundering is often a critical enabler of organised criminality. We believe that the majority of this money is derived from a range of criminal activity carried out by organised crime gangs. We are committed to keeping people safe by robustly pursuing those who are involved in laundering criminally derived money and enabling criminals to access the profits gained from their involvement in a range of illegal activities

The operation is the largest money laundering raid in Northern Ireland history and one of the largest in UK history.