TARGETING ORGANISED CRIME


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Thorsten Neumann said: “We welcome 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, which 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, and its proceeds can be used to fuel many other severe types of crime. TAPA EMEA wholeheartedly supports Project CARGO and will use our intelligence and knowledge to help realise its objectives over the next two years. We hope more LEAs will sign up to participate in this initiative.


"TAPA remains committed to supporting Europol as well as individual police authorities in the growing fight against the perpetrators and causes of cargo crime.”


The effectiveness of the combined efforts of Europol and Eurojust, working alongside law enforcement agencies in EU Member States, was clearly demonstrated again earlier this month with confirmation that the two EU agencies had joined forces with French Gendarmerie and Polish Criminal Police to dismantle an organised crime group suspected of having committed at least 36 cargo thefts, resulting in total estimated losses of €1.5 million. 15 properties were searched simultaneously in Gorzow, Poland, and Nancy in France, and 3 suspects were arrested in each country.


This particular organised crime group under investigation targeted trucks at unsecured parking sites in Eastern France, although it is believed the criminals’ activities also span across several other EU countries.


International police cooperation was central in bringing these six suspects to justice. Involved from the very onset of the investigation in March 2017, Europol brought together the different police forces involved to help them connect the dots between their own national investigations, and provided analytical support before and during the action day. A mobile office was deployed in Nancy to help with the cross checking of operational information against Europol’s databases. Intelligence gathered is now being analysed, and a number of parallel investigations have been opened. Eurojust ensured a coordinating role on a judiciary level.


Operation GRAND FRET EST was supported by the European International Security Fund SPECTRE, an EU-financed project led by France targeting Europe’s most active mobile organised crime groups specialising in property crime. Supported by Europol, and with a total budget of €800,000, Project SPECTRE comprises of 13 members: France, Germany, Lithuania, Romania, Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Latvia, Moldova, Spain and Ukraine.


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