"Drakkar - Polish-

Norwegian course

for the safety of the

Schengen area".

An increase in free movement of persons and goods has

influenced the growing threat from organized crime coming from

other countries. Activities carried out within border areas are not

always sufficiently effective, which results in transferring criminal

centres to the centre of Poland, which is both a transit and

destination country for human trafficking and smuggling of goods.

Opening of borders increases illegal trade in excise goods. Profits

from trafficking are often used to finance criminal activity in other

sectors of the economy.

Therefore, the project will be devoted to analyse compensation

measures that are applied to ensure security in the Schengen area.

They will be presented during three training seminars in Lesser

Poland, in Masovia and in Greater Poland.

Seminar in Masovia – it will be devoted to the prevention and

control of an increasingly common phenomenon of smuggling of

counterfeit and excise goods to the territory of European Union.

It will be held on 22-26.06.2015 for 200 police officers from

Masovian, Lesser Poland, Łódź and Greater Poland Voivodeships.

Smuggling of counterfeit

and excise goods to the

territory of the

European Union.

The growth of trade in counterfeit goods observed in recent

years demonstrates a direct link with the situation on the

international market. Progressive economic crisis in some countries,

economic slowdown and even recession in other ones provoke many

negative economic and social phenomena.

The introduction of a savings system is a direct response to the

crisis. While government austerity programmes being developed for

the entire economy may produce positive effects, the effects of

household savings may be dangerous to human life and health. More

and more consumers try to “get around” the system and buy cheaper

products, reach for goods of poor quality

and unknown origin.

Most often, they are

counterfeit goods.

For many citizens, who by all means want to emulate a lifestyle

typical of representatives of highly developed countries, the

possession of goods bearing trademarks of renowned global brands

is a measure of luxury and wealth.

The effects of the economic crisis felt by consumers, such as

rising unemployment, decline in wages, increase in the cost of living

of households or inflation contribute to looking for savings in every

possible area.

However, one might pay a high price for such "savings",

especially when it comes to counterfeit medications, cigarettes or

alcohol, which constitute the largest group of counterfeit goods in

the whole world.

The phenomenon of counterfeiting famous trademarked brands

has become a global problem in recent years. Trade in goods

infringing intellectual property rights brings profits comparable to

those coming from trade in arms and drugs. Various means of

transport are used to carry illegal products into the European

Union.

The largest (400-

meter) container

ship in the world,

Maersk Mc world-

Kinney Moller,

used to transport

goods to the EU,

among others.

On the European Union market, counterfeit goods represent a

constantly growing percentage of all goods sold.

The main supplier of products infringing intellectual property

rights are China. 85% of all illegal goods, mainly clothing, shoes,

medicines and toys, seized at EU borders come from China.

According to a European Commission estimate, 3 to 5 million

people working in China are employed in the production of

counterfeit and pirated goods.

Fake foods are imported mainly from Turkey, Thailand - soft

drinks; from Hong Kong - memory cards and mobile phones, from

Egypt - games and toys; counterfeit medications from India. It

should be noted, however, that the data indicated by the European

Commission concern only a part of the goods detained by border

guards, not the total market of counterfeit goods.

European Commission reports pay special attention to the fact

that among the counterfeit detained goods, there is a growing

number of goods ordered via the Internet and sent to the territory of

the European Union by post. Many counterfeit products are available

in online stores and auctions, and consumers tempted with their low

price decide to buy them. In addition, the quality of counterfeit

clothes is very good and their origin does not often provoke any

doubt.

Factories that produce genuine goods more and more often at

the same time produce their fakes. One can never be sure if branded

luxury goods purchased in authorized stores are genuine ones. Lots

of counterfeit goods, often at the moment of shipment from the

factory, are packaged by manufacturers together with the original

product. Importers who are involved in the distribution of luxury

goods in the European Union are often not able, despite strict

control, to eliminate counterfeit items.

According to data from the Customs Service Department of the

Ministry of Finance, Polish Customs Service detains goods that

infringe intellectual property rights, mainly in the form of clothing,

watches, jewellery and leather goods, toys, sports equipment,

games and shoes.

According to

statistics, Poland is

indicated as the

world fourth largest

market for trade in

counterfeit goods.

Counterfeit goods are mostly sold in the marketplace and at

online auctions by anonymous sellers. The main reason why

consumers decide to purchase counterfeit goods is their low price

and wide availability.

Deteriorating consumers’ financial situation during the crisis

affects the growth of demand for cheaper goods. Many people

replace luxury goods with counterfeit ones; cheaper, though

produced from raw materials of unknown origin and of "dubious"

quality. Clothing, jewellery, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals are the

most popular products. Stimulants, such as alcohol and cigarettes

are not products of first necessity, however at the time of worsening

economic situation, we observe an increased demand for these

goods.

While counterfeit luxury goods such as leather goods, clothing

and cosmetics can be assigned to a group of goods purchased by

consumers consciously, pharmaceuticals are often purchased

without knowing that they are counterfeit. Their number on the

market is growing at a very fast pace. The World Health

Organization estimates that the Polish spend annually as much as

100 milion zlotys on counterfeit medicines. It is estimated that every

hundredth medication on the Polish market could be counterfeit.

Worldwide, the number of deaths caused by counterfeit medicines

ranges from a few dozens to as many as 200 thousand people per

year.

The most commonly counterfeited medicines include erectile

dysfunction medications, ant-obesity medications, stomach and

duodenum medications, abortion medications, anabolic steroids,

and even what is most shocking, specialized drugs used to treat

cancer. Counterfeit drugs are usually purchased over the Internet

and purchasing decisions are made on the basis of descriptions on

pages that do not even specify basic information about the

manufacturer of the drug and its composition.

Illegal counterfeit goods market is full of alcohol. As a result of

of the Polish Customs Service and the Police, illegal alcohol bottling

is often eliminated and many irregularities related to the

production of alcohol are detected. Counterfeiters of alcohol use all

means to improve their production processes and it’s the more and

more difficult to identify counterfeit vodka, whiskey, brandy or

other types of alcohol.