WCO publishes its three annual reports on IPR, Drugs and Tobacco
Brussels, 4 July 2012
Press Release
The World Customs Organization (WCO) has just published its 2011 Reports on drug trafficking, tobacco smuggling and infringements of intellectual property rights (IPR) that highlight trends and developments and provide Customs authorities with relevant analysis and useable data.
They also demonstrate the efforts made by Customs in the course of 2011 to combat illicit trade more effectively, in particular through high-impact operations organized by WCO Members with the support of the WCO Secretariat and its partners.
The WCO Customs and Drugs Report 2011 analyses seizures on a regional basis and by category of drug intercepted, focusing in particular on routings, means of transport and concealment methods used, with an emphasis on the illegal trade in opiates, cocaine, cannabis, and psychotropic substances.
In 2011 there were 47,000 seizures of drugs, yielding a total of 1,795tonnes of narcotics, including 73 tonnes of cocaine, 1,614 tonnes of cannabis and 89 tonnes of opiates. The number of seizures and the quantities of drugs intercepted in 2011 has increased substantially compared to 2010.
The WCO Customs and Tobacco Report 2011 presents an analysis of all reported seizures in order to provide a global overview of the tobacco smuggling phenomenon, and the various international initiatives to combat this illicit trade to which the WCO contributes and in which it encourages its Members to take part.
During 2011 there were 1,026 recorded seizures of illicit consignments of cigarettes, translating into approximately 1.9 billion cigarettes. These figures show a remarkable decrease of both the number of seizures and the amount of contraband seized in 2011.
The WCO Customs and IPR Report 2011 confirms the changing nature of IPR infringements. Whether it be the nature of the counterfeit goods or the routes they take, international fraud networks are still quick to react to new market conditions and the opportunities they present.
In the course of 2011 there were more than 25,500 reported cases involving the seizure of more than 143 million counterfeit or pirated articles. A rise in counterfeits can be observed in pharmaceutical products, and mobile phones and their accessories.
An extract of each of these Reports may be accessed by the public.
More information
Download the extracts: IPR / Drugs / Tobacco