Operations with partners
OLAF participates in large-scale actions in the form of joint customs operations (JCOs) involving EU and international operational partners. These actions of a limited duration aim to combat fraud and smuggling of sensitive goods in specific risk areas.
Operation NOXIA
Operation NOXIA is a Joint Customs Operation supported by Europol, the World Customs Organization, organizations from 24 EU Member States, as well as those from the UK, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The aim of Operation NOXIA is to prevent dangerous substances from being imported to the EU. The operation, which took place during spring 2023, monitored shipments for a limited period to detect sensitive, prohibited or dangerous goods. In this operation the detected products were pesticides, cigarettes and waste shipments headed from Asia to Europe.
As part of Operation NOXIA OLAF led a Joint Customs action, with partners in Europe and Asia that prevented over 1,221 tonnes of illicit waste, 27,469 litres and 5 tonnes of illicit pesticides as well as over 67 million cigarettes and 10 tonnes of tobacco from being illegally transported into the EU.
OLAF coordinated the action from start to finish, providing a safe IT channel for information sharing, analysing key intelligence and facilitating cooperation between responsible liaison officers.
Operation Shield IV
Operation SHIELD IV is an annual action led by Europol targeting the trade in counterfeit medicines, doping substances, illegal food and sport supplements.
As with previous years OLAF played a full part in the operation by leading an action focussing on curtailing the trade in illicit hormonal substances, food supplements and medicines for erectile dysfunction, which resulted in the seizure of hundreds of thousands of fake items.
OLAF facilitated cooperation and activities of national authorities and customs services in 14 EU Member States (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain).
The action resulted in seizure of 625,170 tablets, 229,525 packages, 27,030 vials, 547.27 kg and 20.49 litres of various counterfeit medicines.
This included 186,754 tablets, 193,759 packages and 350.32 kg of medicines for erectile dysfunction and 21 888 tablets and 1016 vials of anabolic.
Operation OPSON XII
Along with targeting illegal trade in cigarettes, OLAF also has a long history of working with customs officials and other competent authorities across the EU and around the world in tackling the illicit trade in alcohol.
This continued during 2023 with OLAF leading a targeted action to prevent the trade of illicit alcohol as part of the annual Europol-Interpol operation OPSON XII which focuses on eradicating the trade in fake and substandard food and drink.
OLAF coordinated the actions of 24 countries, which led to Customs and police authorities across Europe to seize about 6 million litres of illicit alcoholic beverages, wine and beer.
Operation STOP III
OLAF participated in Operation STOP III organised by the World Customs Organization that focused on cracking down on the illicit trade in medicines, medical devices and vaccines, as well as everyday items such as toys and spare parts.
OLAF supported the operation by providing pre-seizure and post-seizure intelligence about consignors, consignees, goods etc., as well as the information about the routes, trends and modus operandi.
LUDUS IV
OLAF once again assisted Member States in seizing thousands of fake and illicit toys worth millions of euros during Europol’s LUDUS IV operation, which was also supported by the European Union Intellectual Property Office and the World Customs Organization.
OLAF supported the operation by carrying out data analysis and checks on customs documentation. These actions helped lead to the seizure of around 500,000 toys with an estimated value of approximately €2 million.
Some of the goods seized included counterfeit building bricks for children, dolls, plush toys, board games, card games, puzzles, video game consoles, toy electric cars, and characters from well-known animated movies and cartoon series.
Many of these illicitly produced goods bore the name of a famous brand and posed various risks to children’s health and safety due to high levels of banned or restricted chemicals, as well as risks of choking, fire or electric shocks.
DEMETER IX
For the fourth year in a row OLAF, along with 106 customs administrations, took part in the World Customs Organization’s Operation DEMETER IX that targets the trade in illicit waste, ozone-depleting substances (ODS) and potent greenhouse gases.
During the Operation, which took place in October 2023, OLAF identified, monitored and provided real-time information on suspicious shipments while supporting cross-border investigations on illicit imports of F-gases.
The operation ended with the reporting of 338 infringement cases and the seizure of over 17,000 tonnes of waste and almost 70 tonnes of ozone-depleting substances and refrigerant gasses.