Europol coordinated the fifth edition of mathematical process Silver Axe which saw twice the amount of illegal product seized compare to last year ’s operation . The yearly law enforcement operation , which targets the counterfeit and illicit trade of pesticides , drive shoes between 13 January and 25 April and involved 32 country .
police enforcement authorities carried out inspections on land and ocean margin , inland marketplaces and parcel deliveries , find out more than 3,000 tonnes of pesticides . Altogether , 260 investigation were opened , two individual arrest and 1,346 metric ton of illegal pesticides seized . presently , 8 investigations are still ongoing in Belgium , France , Germany , Poland , Slovenia and Switzerland .
Operation Silver Axe V lead to the seizure of 1,346 tonne of illegal pesticides . This measure could be enough to spray 207,000 km2 , or more than all the tillage in Germany which report for virtually half the country , almost 75 % of farmland in France or more than 150 % of the plowland of Romania * .
Pesticides worth up to € 94 Million in criminal profits seize . A European study * * estimates between 10 % and 14 % of the EU pesticide market is bear on by this illegal trade and criminals sack up to € 70 for every trafficked kilogram of illegal pesticide . Some of the organised crime groups trafficking pesticide are also involved in other illegal bodily process such as traffic counterfeited butt and illegally trading pharmaceutical .
Pesticides are one of the most regulated products in the globe : they target harmful organisms in plant but are safe for humans and the environment . Illegal pesticide , however , could posture a risk of exposure to human wellness and the surround , which can not tell us how much price it really suffers from such toxic substances .
The abuse in the swop of illegal pesticide deviate from trafficking counterfeit or mislabelled products to the irregular import of banned essence such as chlorpyrifos , specifically direct during Silver Axe V.
Some of Silver Axe V ’s Successes let in :
2,568 tonne of illegal pesticides arrogate over five Silver Axe operationsTo respond more efficiently to this threat , a European coordinated access was developed with the launch of the first operation Silver Axe in 2015 . The past five operations have seen a total amount at 2,568 tonnes of illegal pesticide seized . This of import outside cooperation and the coarse travail of the public and private sector have been crucial for the success of the operational body process . Europol hold the overall coordination of the operation , facilitating the information commutation and providing operational and strategical analytical backup .
EUIPO , European Anti - Fraud Office ( OLAF ) , the European Commission ’s DG responsible for policies on wellness and food safety , DG SANTE , and from the private sector the European Crop Protection Association ( ECPA ) , the European Crop Care Association ( ECCA ) and Croplife International contributed in full for the success of Silver Axe V. They joined force-out with 32 land in full , 26 EU Member States ( Austria , Belgium , Bulgaria , Croatia , Cyprus , Czechia , Denmark , Estonia , France , Finland , Germany , Greece , Hungary , Ireland , Italy , Latvia , Lithuania , Luxembourg , Malta , the Netherlands , Poland , Portugal , Romania , Slovak Republic , Slovenia , Spain and six non - EU cooperating countries ( Australia , Colombia , Switzerland , Ukraine , United Kingdom and the United States ) .
Catherine De Bolle , Europol ’s Executive Director said : “ The record number of seizures brought by the 5th edition of procedure Silver Axe clearly shows the effectiveness of international cooperation . Since its launch in 2015 , the process has pucker a growing numeral of countries , EU bodies and private sector congresswoman to fight this emerge traffic trend together for the welfare of the human health and the major planet on which we live . Our alliance against illegal pesticides is all important to protect humans , wildlife and nature and preserve the future of the generations to come . ”
EUIPO Executive Director Christian Archambeau enjoin : “ Counterfeit pesticide are a key model of the peril that fake ware pose to the citizens , consumer and the environment . Europol and its IPC3 unit of measurement are to be congratulated for their of the essence operation against the plague of forgery . capture on this scale of measurement make it even more pressing that IP criminal offence is make out as a antecedence area for enforcement action at law against organized external offense . ”
Géraldine Kutas , Director General of ECPA said : “ Selling counterfeit pesticides has quiet develop into one of the world ’s most moneymaking and least understand criminal enterprises . This is not just an government issue for our companionship , whose products are being counterfeit , but more significantly pose a risk to wellness and the environment as these illegal substances do not go through the strict safety tests that are required to grade pesticides on the market . We are proud of to see the continued success of Operation Silver Axe and are grateful to Europol , EUIPO , DG SANTE and OLAF for take a lead on this important military issue . ”
Source : www.europol.europa.eu
