Press Release from Europol - 18th July 24

18 Jul 2024

Hit against fake pesticides across South-Eastern Europe

Illegal pesticides sold on the black market found to poison farmland and nature reserves in Italy and Spain

Europol supported two major operations against the trafficking of illegal pesticides in the EU. The first investigation targeted a company importing counterfeit pesticides from China, replicating the products of a well-known multinational company. The investigation involved the Italian Carabinieri Anti-Adulteration and Public Health Units (Nuclei Antisofisticazione e Sanità dell’Arma dei Carabinieri, NAS) of Padova, the Romanian National Police (Poliția Română) and Eurojust.

In another investigation against illegal pesticides, the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) and the Portuguese National Republican Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana) targeted a Spanish company illegally importing Portuguese pesticides banned in Spain under the cover of fake denomination of the products. Counterfeit pesticides are largely sold on the black market. They are cheaper than the genuine products, but still effective. However, their negative impact on the environment is severe, and often underestimated by consumers.

Cheap but toxic fake pesticides taken off the black market

In January 2022, following an inspection in the framework of operation Silver Axe, the Italian NAS Carabinieri of Padova found counterfeit pesticides imported from China. The counterfeit pesticides were replicas of the genuine products, but contained larger quantities of the active ingredient Lambda-Cyhalothrin.

The demand for these counterfeit pesticides on the black market was very high, as they were sold for a significantly lower price than the genuine products. The criminal network operating both in Italy and Romania illegally imported fake or banned products from China and Singapore, selling them as bio or organic fertilisers and pesticides, usingfake labels. The substances were all banned in the European Union due to their high levels of toxicity.

The investigation led to two action days on 24 and 25 June in Italy and Romania. During the raids, the national authorities arrested one suspect, searched ten locations and gathered evidence of large-scale fraud, forgery and tax evasion. These actions were executed under a Joint Investigation Team, set up by Eurojust to facilitate the judicial cooperation between authorities. Europol facilitated the information exchange and operational cooperation, leading to the development of further investigative leads.

Action against banned pesticides poisoning nature reserves in Spain

In another investigation, Europol supported the Spanish and Portuguese authorities in targeting a Spanish company, which purchased Portuguese pesticides banned in Spain. The ensuing investigations found that the suspects had imported over 12 tonnes of toxic substances banned in Spain, many of which were also banned across the EU, with a potential illegal turnover of up to EUR 7 million.

The authorities are now investigating two legal entities and four individuals in connection with this trafficking. The company covered the product with names of products and substances, registered in Spanish databases, to create the appearance of legal merchandise. They also purchased legal pesticides to hide the additional illegal pesticides. The Spanish authorities detected the illegal products and performed laboratory tests to determine their composition, which was later confirmed in a lab test. The tests revealed the illegal substances the fake pesticides contained, one of which was Chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate insecticide which has been banned in the European Union since 2020.

The banned pesticides were used in different farming facilities, some of which were located in protected areas, such as the Doñana National Park. This national park is one of the most significant ones in Spain. The illegal use of pesticides was posing significant threat to this park’s habitat, wetlands and underground water reserves.

Europol facilitated the exchange of information and provided continuous analytical support to both investigations. On the action days, Europol deployed experts in the field to cross-check operational information in real time and provide experts with possible leads and technical support.