A Europol operation to combat the illegal trade in timber from Brazil detected irregularities in 12 Portuguese companies, police revealed on Friday, also pointing to the involvement of companies from Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.
Europol detailed, in a statement, that more than 350 inspections were carried out during a joint operation that took place in September and that had the objective of illegal timber trade both in countries of origin and destination.
The investigators detected irregularities related to 17 companies (one in Italy, one in the Netherlands, three in Spain and 12 in Portugal). The competent authorities initiated criminal proceedings against one of these companies, ”he added.
The investigations involved police authorities from Brazil, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, as well as the Latin American Project EL PAcCTO, and targeted networks involved in environmental crimes, illegal logging, smuggling, tax evasion, money laundering and Documents forgery.
“The national authorities carried out controls mainly in the Brazilian export ports and in the European ports in search of illegal imports. Criminal networks used document falsification to disguise the origin of the wood or the actual species in shipments to pass customs controls and reach consumers,” the statement said.
According to Europol, this was the “first time that the countries of origin and destination of the illegal timber trade have come together in a coordinated inspection”.
In the statement, the organization notes that illegal timber trade contributes significantly to current deforestation in source countriesdepleting its natural resources.
Europol coordinated the operational activities, facilitated the exchange of information, provided analytical support and, during the days of the operation, sent experts to the Netherlands to support the activities on the ground.
Source: Observadora
