Brussels, 22/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - Almost 45 million smuggled cigarettes, nearly 140,000 litres of diesel fuel and about 14,000 litres of vodka have been seized in a major Joint Customs Operation (JCO). The Operation, code-named “Warehouse"”, was carried-out in October 2013 by the Lithuanian Customs Service and the Lithuanian Tax Inspectorate in close cooperation with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), and with the participation of all EU member states. On Tuesday 21 January, the European Commission stated that this operation meant that losses of about € 9 million in the form of evaded customs duties and taxes paid to EU and member state budgets was avoided. Operation Warehouse focused on cargo movement by road transport. It targeted the smuggling and other forms of illegal trade of excise goods, such as mineral oil, tobacco products and alcohol, throughout Europe. By using several complex scenarios in multiple EU member states, fraudsters lawfully import goods into the EU but request a VAT and excise exemption by declaring the goods as subject to tax and duty exemption regimes (e.g. declaring the goods to be in transit). The trace of the goods is then lost through the fictitious disappearance of the traders or through a fictitious export. JCO Warehouse was the first operation carried out in close cooperation with tax authorities to target both customs fraud and VAT and excise duty fraud. (FG/transl.fl)