Nine suspects in a banking Trojan case have been arrested by specialist cybercops from the UK's new Police Central E-Crime Unit (PCeU).

The suspects - four women and five men - were arrested following police raids in south east London. Investigators reckon the group of UK-based eastern European nationals used malware planted on compromised machines to steal login credentials and plunder online banking accounts.

The arrests follow the establishments of a virtual crime force, involving more than 50 officers from the PCeU and the Met's specialist crime directorate.

Deputy assistance commissioner Janet Williams, ACPO lead for e-crime, said Wednesday's operation illustrated that the long-awaited national e-crime unit was already up and running Computer Weekly reports (http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/04/08/235582/police-e-crime-unit-collars-ex-soviet-gang-in-first.htm). ®

Related stories

• FBI and SOCA plot cybercrime smackdown (22 October 2009)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/10/22/soca_fbi_cybercrime_strategy/

• Man arrested for £1m online tax fraud (4 September 2009)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/04/pceu_hmrc/

• UK banks 'not doing enough' on internet fraud (27 August 2009)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/27/online_banking_fraud_survey/

• Home Sec: No more funds to e-crime unit (14 May 2009)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/05/14/pceu_funding/

• Police want new remote hard drive search powers (29 April 2009)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/04/29/remote_hard_drive_forensics/

• Dixon of Threadneedle Street plan threatens confusion (17 April 2009)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/04/17/business_policing_plan/

• Top e-crime cop to plead for more cash (26 March 2009)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/26/janet_williams_pceu/

• Card-sniffing trojans target Diebold ATM software (17 March 2009)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/17/trojan_targets_diebold_atms/

• Cybercrime losses tax UK small business (19 February 2009)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/19/cybercrime_small_business_survey/

• Top UK cybercop dreams of PC breathalysers (12 December 2008)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/12/pc_breathalyser/

• Security researchers lift the lid on Torpig banking Trojan (31 October 2008)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/31/torpig_banking_trojan/

• Home Office finally approves UK cybercoppers (1 October 2008)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/01/pceu_cybercops_approved/

• Banking Trojan hides in fake Alonso F1 crash story (22 July 2008)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/22/fake_alonso_car_crash_trojan/

• Home Office backs e-crime overhaul (21 May 2008)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/21/e_crime_overhaul/

• New Trojan preys on commercial banking customers (17 December 2007)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/17/prg_bank_trojan/