Péter Farkas, head of the police’s economic crimes department, told a press conference that the operation had been conducted in cooperation with the police forces of several counties along with counter-terrorism force TEK.

The suspects, including the gang’s suspected Ukrainian leader living in Hungary, were arrested after months of careful planning, Farkas said.

Some 300 detectives are involved in the investigation, he said, adding that so far 33 suspects have been taken into custody, 11 of whom have been placed under arrest.

Investigators believe the gang defrauded their victims of more than 200 million forints (EUR 517,000), of which police have recovered around 30 million, he said.