Watch - Police make two arrests in Southport in cyber crime investigation
Watch the moment two people are arrested in Southport by police investigating cyber crime
Two people from Merseyside arrested on suspicion of cyber-crime offences in Southport have been bailed.
The men, who are both 21-years-old were arrested shortly after 7.30pm as part of an investigation led by Titan and supported by the international law enforcement community including the National Crime Agency (NCA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3)and its Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT).
An internet content and cloud computing security company provided technical support. .
The criminal investigation centres on the alleged supplying of software used by computer hackers which is an offence in the UK under the Computer Misuse Act (1990) and Police and Justice Act (2006).
One of the men was arrested at a house in Moreland Drive and the other man was arrested at a property in Old Park Lane, also in Southport.
They were kept inside the properties while specialist Titan officers forensically examined various electronic devices using a mobile cyber forensic lab provided by Europol.
The two men have since been taken to separate police stations in the North-west of England where they will be interviewed by officers from Titan’s cyber-crime unit about the alleged offences.
Computer equipment seized from both houses will also be subjected to further forensic examination.
Detective Superintendent Jason Hudson, head of operations at Titan, said: “These arrests are a significant step forward in our relentless fight against cyber-crime which is a type of criminality that really does affect us all. Not everyone will understand yet what cyber-crime is or how it impacts on normal people but it is an increasing threat to anyone who uses the Internet and organised crime groups often sit behind it.
“Cyber criminals who hack into your computer or that of your business or your bank account or your social network can do so from anywhere in the world. So it is vital that law enforcement agencies in different countries work together by sharing intelligence about potential offenders and pool resources and expertise to tackle this common goal.""