A total of nearly 14 million pieces related to intellectual property rights (IPR), health and safety were seized as part of an operation codenamed “FRONPIAS” (meaning clean borders in Spanish - fronteras limpias). This World Customs Organization (WCO) regional initiative was aimed at protecting society from fake, counterfeit, substandard and falsified goods which threaten public health and safety in many countries.
As part of a multi-stakeholder collaborative effort, Operation FRONPIAS was conducted in January 2025 in the WCO Americas and the Caribbean (AMS) region, with participation by 14 Member Customs administrations: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.
To coordinate and provide technical support to the operation, the WCO set up a virtual Operational Coordination Unit (OCU) at its Headquarters in Brussels. The OCU, staffed by WCO Secretariat experts working alongside the Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs) of the AMS region, assisted participating Members with information exchange and data quality matters.
Results in detail
Out of a total of 332 cases reported by 11 participating Members, 84% were IPR infringement-related cases and 14% involved pharmaceutical products.
Operation FRONPIAS led to the interception of 13,837,275 pieces, of which tobacco products accounted for 89% in quantity terms.
The majority of cases, namely 199 (60%), were import cases, followed by internal cases (120), export cases (9) and then transit cases (4).
Members reported that 216 cases (65%) were detected through risk profiling.
Peru reported the most cases (110), followed by Mexico (54), Chile (51), Argentina (46) and Brazil (39).
Accessories and clothing (both resulting in 71 seizures) were the two categories most frequently affected by IPR infringements, followed by footwear (54 seizures). In terms of the number of pieces seized, games and toys ranked first (279,752).
The most frequently reported types of medicines were metabolic agents, accounting for 22 seizures.
Emerging concealment trends
Several cases in Brazil involved passengers who hid pharmaceutical products on their bodies by wearing thick black tights under their clothing. This method enabled them to conceal over 70 doses of medicine.
Outcomes of Operation FRONPIAS
Among its many positive outcomes, Operation FRONPIAS has contributed to deepening regional cooperation between Customs administrations and to enhancing relationships with national stakeholders such as health authorities, IPR agencies and rights holders.
Pre-operational arrangements
This regional operation was designed to build Members’ enforcement capacity in the IPR domain, and provided participating Members’ National Contact Points (NCPs) with training - both online and on-site - on the Operational Plan, its scope, and IPR risk profiling and detection methods.
Additionally, recognizing the crucial need for continuous exchange of real-time information during Operation FRONPIAS, the WCO Secretariat set up a dedicated CENcomm1 closed user group (CUG) to ensure secure communication between participants and with the Secretariat. The CUG enabled Members to enhance their IPR risk management in a prompt and effective manner. Eleven operational newsletters were shared through this channel, together with regular updates on seizures, trends and risk indicators.
For more information about IPR protection-related activities, please contact us at: IPRteam@wcoomd.org