Business Area Serious and Organised Crime

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Meeting of the FFN

Brussels, 18 May 2018

UPDATES from EUROPOL

Europol Unclassified – EU BPL

Agenda

1. Operation OPSON VII and the Tuna project

2. Latest news on ongoing cases

3. Cooperation between Europol and EU COM – DG Health

1. Operation OPSON VII and Tuna project

Operation OPSON VII

• End of operational phase: 31 March 2018

• Results gathered by INTERPOL and Europol

Main points

• 67 participating countries, 24 EU MS

• 21 private partners

• More than 3 620 tonnes and 9.7 million litres of counterfeit/substandard food

1. Operation OPSON VII and Tuna project

1. Operation OPSON VII and Tuna project

Tuna project

• Initiated upon request of Germany, Norway and Switzerland

• Europol, DG Health and INTERPOL to support the initiative

Main points

• 11 participating countries: FR, DE, HU, IT, LI, NL, NO, PT, ES, CH, UK

• Targeted enforcement actions on tuna, based on intelligence provided by PS, Europol, DG Health

• Objectives: establish a comprehensive approach for enforcement with all legal tools, disrupt and arrests criminal groups

1. Operation OPSON VII and Tuna project

Tuna project

• Coordination meetings in Nov. and March 2018

• Network of contact points

• Exchange of info with tuna industry and use of intell. from TC

1. Operation OPSON VII and Tuna project

Tuna project Main results

• Active participation from all 11 countries

• Action plans decided at national level

• Main types of fraud • Tuna sold as fresh when stored in brine

• Illicit treatments with additives (nitrites, CO…)

• Results: 51 tonnes of tuna seized, 380 samples taken, 5 criminal cases initiated

• Report to be drafted by UK – Scotland Food Crime and Incident Unit (template to report the results available on the EPE)

1. Operation OPSON VII and Tuna project

Tuna project Communication strategy

• Actions mentioned in the press release on OPSON VII INTERPOL/Europol

• EU COM DG Health published a newsletter

• Communication at national level

• Communication material available on the EPE

1. Operation OPSON VII and Tuna project

1. Operation OPSON VII and Tuna project

Video

1. Operation OPSON VII and Tuna project

Tuna project Main achievements

• First joint project with enforcement results

• First exchanges of operational data between EU COM DG Health/Europol

• Intelligence gaps filled between regulatory agencies and LEAs

• First coordinated communication strategy

Next project?

1. Operation OPSON VII

Next steps

• Analysis of the results, drafting of the report

• Debriefing meeting on 24/25 October 2018 (provisional dates) at INTERPOL HQ, France

2. Ongoing cases

Case of Counterfeit baby milk powder

• Recent action day in Spain

8 tonnes of counterfeit milk powder seized

• Follow up of a case initiated in the AAC (by NL) in 2017

• Criminal cases opened in ES, PL, NL, LT

• Europol supports the case and established bridges with all stakeholders

3. Cooperation between Europol and EU COM – DG Health

Three main points:

• Access (reading mode) to Administrative Assistance and Cooperation System (AAC and later iRASFF);

• Participation in update meetings of DG SANTE (at least once per month);

• Participation in training activities on food frauds with the MSs, (IPC3 already delivers trainings on specific subjects).

SIENA Information Exchange Secure Information Exchange Network Application

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3. Cooperation between Europol and EU COM – DG Health

Possible benefits:

• Should good cases/useful information be detected, Europol could receive the relevant data via Siena (DG Home).

• Possible to process and store the data in the Europol Analysis System.

• Immediate results: filling of intelligence gaps, efficient liaising between administrative and judicial authorities = enhanced protection of public health.

Europol Unclassified – EU BPL

Any question?

Thank You for Your Attention

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