EMPACT arrests for IP crime top 1,000 in 2023

An update from Europol on counterfeiting and other forms of intellectual property crime reveals that 1,096 were made last year, more than half coming from an operation targeting bricks-and-mortar premises.

The progress report from the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) – a flagship EU-led security initiative focusing on organised and serious international crime networks – notes that 581 arrests alone came from Operation Fake Star, which involves checks on warehouses, stores, street markets and other locations and resulted in the seizure of a colossal €108m in fake goods.

A fact sheet published on Europol's website also shows that more than 1,400 investigations were launched last year, along with over 1,200 judicial cases, and counterfeit products seized with a value of €205m ($226m) including €64m in falsified and substandard medicines and medical devices, €19m-worth of fake toys, €8.5m in fake clothing and accessories, and €4m in forged currency.

Among the highlights of 2025 were more than 25m counterfeit cosmetics and perfumes that are traded illegally on online platforms and physical markets in Operation Aphrodite V.

The haul is a big step up from the previous EMPACT report for 2022, which resulted in 115 arrests and the seizure of fake goods worth €42m. That included 9.4m counterfeit cosmetics and perfumes, 1.2m illegal car parts, 2m pharmaceutical products, and 320,000 fake clothes and accessories.

The report also exposes the overlap and inter-relationships between the various forms of crime covered by EMPACT, which also include fraud and other forms of financial crime, human trafficking and child sexual exploitation, drug trafficking, and cyber-attacks, amongst others.

The priorities for the next four-year EMPACT cycle – from 2026 – should be set next year.