site.bta700,000 Counterfeit Items Confiscated during EU PIRATES II Operation

Nearly 700,000 counterfeit items were confiscated during joint action day (JAD) PIRATES II against smuggling and attempts to import counterfeit goods into the EU via land and sea borders. The prevented damage to the EU budget through the confiscated counterfeit goods and currency exceeded EUR 32 million, the Customs Agency reported on Monday.

During the operation, the Bulgarian customs administration was the leader, and the Portuguese customs were the co-leaders. The operational coordination of the operation was through FRONTEX (The European Border and Coast Guard Agency), and EUROPOL (European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation). EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office), OLAF (European Anti-Fraud Office) took part in the actions, as did the Bulgarian Border Police General Directorate and the General Directorate Combating Organized Crime, as well as law enforcement institutions from France, Czechia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Montenegro and Ukraine. The joint actions, under the auspices of the EMPACT priority "Crimes against intellectual property, counterfeiting of goods and currency", took place between May 13 and 24, 2024.

As part of JAD PIRATES II operational activities, multiple categories of counterfeit products were confiscated, including excise goods and non-EU compliance goods. The products ranged from textiles, shoes and accessories to electronic devices, toys, perfumes and watches, or a total of 698,359, showing that anything can be counterfeited these days.

At the coordination centre at FRONTEX headquarters in Warsaw, the operation participants exchanged real-time risk information and coordinated the tracking of high-risk shipments, with participants pooling efforts and expertise to prevent hundreds of thousands of counterfeit items from reaching the European market.

During the joint actions, Bulgarian customs selected high-risk shipments transported by land, while maritime traffic was monitored by Portuguese customs.

Along with the identified counterfeit goods, the actions of the parties involved led to significant confiscations outside the scope of the operation, including large quantities of cigarettes (41.2 million cigarette packs), 18 tonnes of tobacco, undeclared gold jewelry (1.285 kg) and undeclared currency (USD 224,000, EUR 85 175). A total of 333 attempts to illegally enter the territory of the EU were also prevented, which in turn is indicative of the multi-criminal nature of cross-border illegal activities.

Most of the goods and currency confiscated  during the operation were a result of the active contribution of the Bulgarian customs officials.
This is the second edition of the JAD PIRATES joint operation. When it was first held, it was reported to be highly effective in the context of the concept of integrated border management and promoting synergy between customs authorities, border authorities and law enforcement officials.