Combatting the trafficking of stolen
vehicles, its parts, stolen boats as well preventing migrant smuggling and
associated document fraud was the focus of a Frontex-led operation conducted
across Europe supported by INTERPOL, Europol as well as CELBET.
The operation named Mobile 4 took place between 11-22 October in
15 EU countries and further six countries in the Balkan region. It was an
action under the umbrella of EMPACT Priority Organised Property Crime*, co-led
by Greece, Germany, Poland, and Europol.
Hundreds of police officers
and border guards from 23 European and Western Balkan countries were involved
in the operation. European standing corps officers deployed by Frontex as part
of the agency’s ongoing land operations supported the action with their
expertise.
Within
two weeks, officers involved in the operation performed 10 000 checks of
different databases leading to the seizure of 518 stolen vehicles.
Participating
countries also confiscated 400 stolen vehicle parts found in trucks and in chop
shops, leading to new investigations against car crime gangs. In addition, over
140 of forged or falsified ID documents and vehicles documents were detected.
Thanks
to the cooperation between various authorities, several luxury cars were
seized in different EU countries, which shows international character of the
threat.
Officers
also raided chop shops – places where stolen vehicles were dismantled into
parts to be further smuggled and sold online.
During
the checks of thousands of vehicles and boats, authorities detected 1000
irregular migrants on the way to the EU via land and sea routes. 31
facilitators of migrant smuggling have been arrested.
Thanks to the multipurpose approach,
also other types of criminal activities were targeted, including trafficking in
drugs, firearms and endangered species.
Sharing
information
Frontex
set up a coordination centre at its headquarters in Warsaw, where officers from
participating countries could exchange information. INTERPOL provided key
support to the operation by sharing its expertise, databases and worldwide
network.
During
the joint action, law enforcement authorities worked hand in hand with the
private industry, especially car manufacturers, rental and leasing companies,
but also producers of boats, to target motor vehicle crime in a more efficient
manner.
Thanks
to the action, criminals were prevented from smuggling many vehicles and
boats overseas. Authorities that
took part in Mobile 4 observed an increasing trend of smuggling of stolen trucks, busses, agriculture
machinery as well as holiday cars (campers).
Participants
Hundreds
of police officers and border guards from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Portugal,
Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Albania, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Kosovo*, Republic of
North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia were involved in the operation on the
spot.
*The operation was part of European Multidisciplinary Platform Against
Criminal Threats (EMPACT), a four-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.
