More than 500 stolen cars and more than a tonne of drugs were stopped at the border crossings at Europe’s land borders over less than two weeks as part of an operation led by Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. Thanks to the cooperation with Bulgarian customs, 700 kg of heroin was seized at the border between Bulgaria and Turkey, a record amount of drugs seized in that area.
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500 stolen cars stopped, 700 kg of heroin seized at Europe’s borders during operation led by Frontex
2018-10-11
The operation, known as Joint Action Day (JAD) Mobile, took part at EU’s eastern and Western Balkan borders. It brought together 16 EU member states and
a number of non-EU countries and was coordinated by Frontex and co-led by Germany, Greece, Poland and Europol. International organisations, such as Interpol also supported the operation.
JAD Mobile, which concluded on Sunday, zeroed in on stopping stolen cars and car parts, as well as related document fraud. It also targeted criminal networks facilitating irregular migration, drug smuggling.
In less than two weeks, the international operation led to:
• Identification of 500 stolen cars and 26 motorcycles
• Seizure of 712 kg of heroin and 540 kg of cannabis
• Seizure of 9 weapons and 500 bullets
• Arrest of 140 people smugglers
• Detection of 230 fraudulent documents.
For the operation, Frontex set up a coordination centre at its Warsaw headquarters. It also made use of ongoing Frontex operations at land borders and experts from member states dealing with stolen cars, fraudulent documents and border surveillance.
Another aim of JAD Mobile was to improve the exchange of intelligence and improvement of operational cooperation between different EU member states, non-EU countries and international organisations involved in tracking stolen vehicle. It linked up the police, border guards and customs authorities.
The operation was coordinated under the umbrella of the European Multidisciplinary Platform against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) as part of the EU Policy Cycle, a 4-year plan for the fight against serious and organised crime. It brings together police and law enforcement authorities of EU member states, European agencies and international organisations to jointly strengthen Europe’s borders and internal security. The results and intelligence gathered will help in ongoing and future investigations.
