INTERPOL news

A joint customs operation, supported by INTERPOL and Europol has resulted in the seizure of more than 65 million counterfeit cigarettes and 369,000 counterfeit items including shoes, toys, cameras and clothing.

Co-ordinated by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) under the framework of ASEM (Asia-Europe meeting), the operation codenamed Diabolo II involved 13 Asian countries and the 27 European Union member states.

During September and October 2009, containers shipped from Asia to Europe were targeted and placed under surveillance. A total of 346 suspected containers were selected for inspection or scanning, resulting in 30 being retained as they were transporting counterfeit cigarettes and other counterfeit items.

Further checks carried out by INTERPOL – including for the first time against INTERPOL’s Database on International Intellectual Property (DIIP) Crime – and Europol resulted in 89 individuals or companies being identified as having links with criminal organizations.

The operation follows the success of Diabolo I, carried out in 2007 which was also supported by INTERPOL, which for the first time provided customs officials with direct access to I-24/7, INTERPOL’s secure global police communications system, enabling them to check information against the organizations’ range of databases.

During Operation Diabolo II, all participating countries successfully used a specific IT communication tool for the real-time exchange of information and intelligence. It was also the first time that OLAF deployed the secure internet access to its communication tool (the Anti-Fraud Information System) for the 13 Asian countries.

An overview of joint customs operations, including a list of the results of Operation Diabolo II and copyright-free pictures, are available on the OLAF website: http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/Diabolo-II/i_en.html