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Coordinators: Republic of Albania
Established: February 2003
MAIN ACTIVITIES
18th Meeting of the Anti-Fraud and Anti-Smuggling Task Force, 18 of April 2018, Bucharest/Romania
17th meeting of the Anti-Fraud and Anti-Smuggling Task Force, 9 November 2017, Bucharest/ Romania
15th Meeting of Anti-Fraud and Anti-Smuggling Task Force, 4-5 June 2015, Bucharest/Romania
14th Meeting of Anti-Fraud and Anti-Smuggling Task Force, 11-12 June 2014, Bucharest/ Romania
Conference on Best Practices in Combating Illicit Trade of Tobacco Products, 22-23 October 2013, Opatija/ Republic of Croatia
13th Meeting of Anti-Fraud and Anti-Smuggling Task Force, 6 June 2013, Bucharest/ Romania
12th Meeting of Anti-Fraud and Anti-Smuggling Task Force, 18-19 September 2012, Bucharest, Romania
11th Meeting of Anti-Fraud and Anti-Smuggling Task Force, 8-9 May 2012, Durres, Republic of Albania
10th Anti Fraud and Anti-Smuggling Task Force Meeting, 12-13 April, Ohrid, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Anti-Fraud and Anti-Smuggling Task Force Meeting
At the 9th Meeting of the Anti-Fraud and Anti-Smuggling Task Force, 12-13 October, Durres, Albania, the Annual Regional Report on Cigarettes Seizures was presented.
13 meetings and activities at international level
Regional Operations
Operation SHADOW IV - targeting cigarette smuggling
Joint Investigations
6 joint investigations and 5 additional operational/working meetings were supported by SECI Center.
Joint investigation among Customs Authorities from Albania, Romania and Serbia on a case of smuggling of cigarettes
The 8th Meeting of the Anti-Fraud and Anti-Smuggling Task Force, 26-27 May, Bucharest, Romania
Annual Regional Report on Cigarettes Seizures
4 international meetings and activities
Regional Operations
Operation TROJAN HORSE - counterfeit and pirated goods, implemented under the Greek Customs Excise Duties coordination with the participation of all SECI Center countries and some observers
Joint Investigations
Operation ATALANTI - controlled delivery of cigarettes without excise duty labels, investigation among Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova
Operation ASH - among Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Romania on cigarettes smuggling
Joint investigation among Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria and Albania on customs fraud issues
At the 7th Anti-Fraud and Anti-Smuggling Task Force Meeting, 3-4 November, Bucharest, Romania, the Regional Report on Cigarettes Seizures was presented.
Regional Operations
Operation SHADOW III - on cigarette smuggling, with the participation of all SECI Center countries
Operation HURRICANE II - on counterfeit and pirated goods, with the participation of all SECI Center member countries
Joint Investigations
Operation COTTON - joint investigation among Customs Services from Serbia and Hungary
COTTON Operation against Textile Smugglers – Regional Cooperation of Customs Services
The Task Force was born as a result of merging in 2003 of two SECI Center task-forces: the commercial fraud task force coordinated by the Customs Administration of the Republic of Croatia and the task force on customs valuation fraud coordinated by the Albanian Customs.
The Anti-Smuggling and Anti-Fraud Task Force has ensured effectiveness in assisting member countries to combat smuggling and customs fraud. The positive influence was mainly achieved by exchanging case information, coordinating regional anti-smuggling operations and supporting joint investigations on cigarette smuggling among the member countries.
From the very beginning, the activity of the task force was centered on regional operations, in order to have a clear picture of the smuggled goods, especially cigarettes, and to set up an active assistance system among the authorities in the region in order to stop the illegal traffic and the fraud attempts.
In June 2004 the SECI Center Task Force on Anti-Fraud and Anti-Smuggling approved the proposal of Hungarian Customs and Financial Guard to implement a regional operation focused on cigarettes smuggled via all forms of transportation (air, sea, rail and road). The exercise was code-named Operation SHADOW and it principally aimed at exchanging information and producing a situation report on cigarette smuggling based on details of seizures made in SEE during a specific period. The active contribution of the participating countries during Operation SHADOW showed their serious commitment to cooperate through SECI Center to counter this phenomenon.
