Every day, EU external borders are targeted by criminal networks committing different types of illegal activities. Frontex regularly coordinates international operations to respond to criminal phenomena and stop the crime at the borders. One of such operations is known as Joint Action Days (JAD) Finestra targeting cases of cross-border crime at the EU’s external borders.
The third edition of JAD – Finestra 3 – took place between 6 and 17 November. It focused on detecting the smuggling of excisable and illegal goods, from cigarettes and raw tobacco to vaping and heated alternatives of the conventional nicotine products. The results yielded detection of impressive quantities of such products.
The Finestra 3 operation was led by Romania and co-led by Lithuania and Frontex. It aimed at reinforcing cooperation with the Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership countries in the area of border management and cross-border crime detection.
In addition to the detection of the illegal products, the participating officers identified and registered 202 illegal border crossings, 261 refusals of entry, and 17 cases of document fraud. Also, the cooperation between Frontex border guards, national border guards, customs and law enforcement resulted in the recovery of three sniper rifles with optical scopes and seven stolen motor vehicles.
Source : Frontex