Brussels, 23/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - February's joint international customs operation “Diabolo”, coordinated by the Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), saw the seizure of 135 million cigarettes and 557,000 other counterfeit products. At a press conference in Brussels on Monday 23 April, Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas said the operation had been “a victory in the fight against fraud and organised crime”. He said he was convinced of the need to further strengthen administrative assistance at international level and promised that the Commission would play its full role.
Operation Diabolo, the tenth of its kind, was commissioned by the member states of ASEM (Asia Europe Meeting), a process of dialogue begun in 1996 and in which the 27 EU member states, the European Commission and 13 Asian countries (Brunei, Burma/Myanmar, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam) take part. The operation, coordinated by OLAF's “customs investigations” section, involved over 300 customs officers across the EU and was supported by Interpol, Europol and the World Customs Organization.
The customs authorities of all 27 member states exchanged information on the movement of suspect containers in Asian ports. Of the 500 containers searched, 20 contained over 134 million counterfeit cigarettes, corresponding to a loss to the EU of €220 million in customs duties and taxes. 47 other containers contained 557,000 counterfeit products, such as textiles, shoes, toys, furniture, suitcases and watches. Mr Kallas said that the investigation had resulted in the arrest of 8 smugglers in Spain and the Netherlands. He said that all involved should congratulate themselves on the success of the operation, which is only one of the many facets of Europe's fight against fraud, and which marks an important step in international cooperation in combating customs fraud. (lc)