The smuggling of tobacco products and pharmaceuticals costs the European Union and its member states EUR 10 billion per year, said Director-General of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), Giovanni Kessler.

At the 11th OLAF Anti-Fraud Communicators” Network”s (OAFCN) seminar in Berlin, Kessler said "we could save billions of euros by protecting our borders more efficiently" and called for close co-operation between national authorities and OLAF in the fight against smuggling.
"With one common border and 27 different border guards, the Member States of the European Union must co-operate closely to stop smuggled goods from entering our territory," he said.
At a joint press conference with the central authority for German customs investigation, the Zollkriminalamt (ZKA), Kessler and the ZKA President Paul Wamers presented their common goal of increasing co-operation in customs matters to reduce smuggling.
OLAF has 27 active investigations in Germany and co-operates closely with German law enforcement authorities and in particular the German customs office. 14 of OLAF”s ongoing investigations concern customs matters, of which 11 are related to cigarette smuggling. (pi)