European Anti-Fraud Office seizes 70,000 fake vehicle parts
The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has seized over 70,000 counterfeit vehicle parts in a joint customs operation.
OLAF investigates fraud that affects the EU budget, corruption and serious misconduct within the European institutions, and develops anti-fraud legislation and policies.
Operation Renegade involved a team of six customs liaison officers from Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, Norway, China and the EU law enforcement agency, Europol.
The items seized included grills, oil and air filters, fuel pumps and over 500 cylinders of CFC refrigerant commonly used in air-conditioning and refrigeration systems.
“These fake items could not only be harmful to the environment, but also be potentially dangerous to the safety and health of citizens,” OLAF said in a statement released yesterday, June 26.
Alongside the vehicle parts, 56 million counterfeit cigarettes were seized, as well as over 600kg of cocaine.
The two-week operation saw the search of over 400 containers in a number of European ports.
Operation Renegade was organised within the Asia-Europe meeting, a regular meeting between Asian and European countries and Russia to discuss political, economic and socio-cultural cooperation.
“This shows what can be achieved when customs authorities, international partners and industry work together to fight against the trade of counterfeit goods,” said Giovanni Kessler, director-general of OLAF.
Kessler added: “Counterfeit goods hurt consumers, harm legitimate businesses and cause huge losses to public revenues.”
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