April 26, 2018 – The Hague, Netherlands

Operation Opson VII was a joint operation combining the resources of Interpol and Europol that ran over the course of 4 months, From December 2017 through March 2018. Operation Opson VII was conducted in over sixty countries with coordinated efforts of local as well as national police forces in conjunction with border patrol and customs agencies.

The preliminary numbers released for Operation Opson VII include:

  • 41,283 Checks Carried Out
  • 14,474,091 Items Seized
  • 749 Arrests
  • 705 Search warrants executed
  • 49 Criminal Networks dismantled
  • 66 Illegal Factories shut down

Operation Opson VII was supported by funding from the United Arab Emirates via the INTERPOL Foundation for a Safer World. Operation Opson VII, as have the previous six, focuses on deadly, dangerous fake food, beverages and healthcare products.

Methanol added to alcoholic drinks, expired products for sale and unhygienic storage conditions were among the offences detected during the operation. Counterfeit alcohol topped the list of the most seized product in Operation Opson VII.

The largest counterfeit alcohol results came from Russia, where officials discovered and shuttered 48 underground fake alcohol factories. More Than 1.6 million liters of counterfeit booze was seized in Operation Opson VII. Criminal proceeding against 282 people were initiated stemming from the illegal alcohol factories raided and the 1.6 million liters of fake alcohol seized.

Fake alcohol was seized through the over sixty countries targeted by Operation Opson VII. In reaction to a rash of deaths caused by spurious liquor in Indonesia, the officials of Operation Opson VII assisted authorities in locating the source of the widely distributed dodgy booze.

Although fake alcohol is always a list topper in the yearly Operation Opson coordinated enforcement efforts, the amount of counterfeit food products ranging from tuna fish to spices is also troubling.

Operation Opson VII saves lives by keeping faking food and counterfeit alcohol from reaching their intended destinations. It is however a specially funded project that runs for a specific time.

Counterfeit alcohol topped the list of the most seized product in Operation Opson VII. Over 1.6 Million Liters of #FakeAlcohol Click to Tweet

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