The Silver Axe 🪓

Although it sounds like the title of a movie about Vikings, we’re talking about an international apprehension operation. The seventh edition of Silver Axe, Europol’s (the European Union's law enforcement agency) annual operation targeting illegal pesticides identified the new trends emerging on the black market.

• The operational activities focused on seaports, airports, and other entry points, though it’s also been monitoring online shops. They led to ten arrests, the seizure of 1,150 tons of illegal and counterfeit pesticides, and the targeting of a factory where pesticides were being counterfeited.

The number of cases of illegal pesticides, sourced in Turkey, has increased sharply, although China remains the number one source country. The trafficking of smaller consignments has also increased over the years. 

• Although banned substances remain “popular,” the operation has revealed that the counterfeiting of commonly used brands is now growing.
• During the operations, a number of modus operandi have been revealed, such as the import of almost finalized products in containers resembling well-known brands, which need only to be labeled before going onto the black market, as well as the import of illegal ingredients.

Catherine De Bolle, Europol’s executive director, reinforces the fact that, despite their low price, unauthorized plant protection products have a very high cost for the environment, public health, the agricultural industry, and farmers’ livelihood.