Europol has flagged 4,340 online URLs for removal during a large international operation targeting “The Com,” a decentralized network linked to violent extremism, cybercrime, and child exploitation.
The operation, known as Referral Action Days, was carried out between June and July 2026 with investigators from Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. The effort was coordinated by Europol’s EU Internet Referral Unit (EU IRU) and Spain’s Intelligence Centre against Terrorism and Organised Crime (CITCO) as part of the European Commission’s ProtectEU counterterrorism initiative.
According to Europol, the operation focused on disrupting The Com’s online presence, removing harmful content, and collecting intelligence to support ongoing investigations. Authorities identified thousands of URLs containing violent extremist material, including videos and images promoting self-harm, suicide, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), animal cruelty, and violent assaults.
Investigators also found guides and manuals shared within the network that explained how to carry out crimes such as grooming minors, murder, making improvised explosives, doxing, swatting, and other violent acts. Europol said members often rely on coded language, symbols, and emojis to hide their messages and communicate with one another online.
The latest crackdown builds on Project Compass, an international investigation launched in January 2025 by Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre. Earlier this year, the agency reported that the operation had already resulted in 30 arrests, the identification of 179 suspects, and the rescue of 62 victims connected to The Com.
Europol describes The Com, short for “Community,” as a loose network made up of multiple groups rather than a single organization. While some factions promote violent right-wing extremist and accelerationist ideologies, the wider network is known for recruiting vulnerable young people through social media, messaging platforms, and online gaming communities.
Authorities say victims are manipulated into self-harm, violent acts, and producing explicit material involving minors. Many are later controlled through sextortion and blackmail. Europol said members use public platforms to attract new recruits before moving conversations into private chat groups where radicalization and exploitation take place.
The network is divided into several subgroups with different criminal activities. Offline Com promotes property damage, violence, and terrorism, while Cyber Com is linked to hacking operations and ransomware attacks. Another branch, known as (S)extortion Com, focuses on coercing minors into sexual exploitation and encouraging self-harm. Europol also highlighted 764, a subgroup that has become notorious for grooming young people into creating explicit content that is later used for blackmail or shared within the group.
In April 2025, authorities arrested two alleged leaders of the 764 subgroup, Prasan Nepal and Leonidas Varagiannis. Both are accused of operating an international child exploitation network and could face life imprisonment if convicted.
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Europol has also linked members of The Com to several major cyberattacks in recent years, including the 2023 breaches involving Las Vegas casinos and the 2025 ransomware attacks targeting UK retailers Marks & Spencer, Co-op, and Harrods. These cases highlight how the network combines online radicalization, cybercrime, and exploitation into a broad international criminal operation.
