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LEA PARTNERSHIP


TAPA EMEA JOINS FORCES WITH EUROPOL, EUROJUST AND EU MEMBER STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO TARGET ORGANISED CRIME GROUPS SPECIALISING IN CARGO THEFT


TAPA EMEA is the first industry association to be invited to join Project CARGO, an EU-financed project led by the German State Office of Investigation of Saxony-Anhalt targeting mobile organised crime groups specialising in cargo theft.


The project kicked-off this month with its first meeting in The Hague, attended by law enforcement investigators from EU Member States - Germany, France, Czech Republic, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark and Austria - together with specialists from Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, and Eurojust, the EU agency dealing with judicial co-operation in criminal matters among agencies of the Member States. TAPA EMEA was represented by Chairman, Thorsten Neumann, who gave a presentation on the Association’s work, and Executive Director, Laurence Brown.


The first gathering at Eurojust’s headquarters was convened to agree on ways to tackle the criminal phenomenon in the framework of this new project.


In a press release announcing the start of the project, Europol stated: “Cargo theft in Europe is increasing in numbers of incidents and also in the cost of lost goods.


The criminal groups, originating mainly from Eastern Europe, are becoming more organised and frequently target high-value products, such as electronics, tobacco and pharmaceutical products. Most of these crimes are thefts from trucks at unsecured parking sites, but violent crimes such as hijackings and robberies are occurring more often.”


Cargo thefts cost industries billions of euros each year, Europol added, citing losses in Germany alone of an estimated €2.2 billion in 2016, which were reported earlier this year by a working group of 12 business associations – including TAPA EMEA – which was created to determine the true cost of cargo crime in Germany and to collaborate on theft prevention.


Running for an initial period of two years, Project CARGO will target organised crime groups involved in cargo theft through regular operational meetings and joint investigations, with the full operational and analytical support of Europol’s Analysis Project FURTUM, which specialises in organised property crime.


THORSTEN NEUMANN, CHAIRMAN, TAPA EMEA


‘This proactive initiative on the part of the EU, the German State Office of Investigation of Saxony-Anhalt, and law enforcement agencies of EU Member States, clearly recognises the rising level of cargo crime in Europe and the threat it poses across business and society. It affects innocent individuals who are victims of violent attacks, damages the reputations and financial wellbeing of businesses of all sizes, impacts local and national economies, drains police resources, and its proceeds can be used to fuel many other severe types of crime.’


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