A serious blow against cross-border crime was dealt as a result of the pan-European operation "Pirates 3", which was hosted and coordinated this year by the Customs Agency.
The operation was aimed at criminal networks involved in the smuggling of people and goods across the external borders of the European Union. It was carried out in the period 6-17 October 2025 under the coordination of Frontex — the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. The coordination of this year's edition was also undertaken by Bulgaria together with Portugal, with the participation of law enforcement authorities from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain, Ukraine and Serbia.
Operational support in the field of analysis, detection of illegal migration, counteraction to document fraud and interception of counterfeit and prohibited goods was also provided by Europol, as well as the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
Within the framework of “Pirates 3“, the employees of the “Customs“ Agency have detained a total of 134,568 goods suspected of infringing intellectual property rights, with their market value estimated at 4,979,016 euros. The detained excise goods - tobacco products are 6,373,480 pieces and amount to 1,115,359 euros. In addition, undeclared currency worth 178,800 euros, 959.04 kg of marijuana and 1 kg of methamphetamine were confiscated.
At the national level, the operation achieved remarkable results in the following areas:
• Illegal migration: 64 cases of illegal border crossing detected
• Document fraud: 261 forged or counterfeit travel and identity documents seized, including passports, ID cards, residence permits and driving licenses
• Counterfeit goods: over 420,000 items seized, including textiles, shoes, accessories, car parts, toys, cosmetics and electronics
• Excise goods: over 17.5 million cigarettes and 6,500 e-cigarettes seized
• Drugs: 1,698 kg of marijuana and 1.2 kg of methamphetamine seized
• Firearms: 148 pistols, 179 magazines and 122 cartridges seized
• Undeclared goods and cash: 109,402 pharmaceutical pills, 134 luxury watches, 107 kg of food products and EUR 1,156,370 in undeclared cash found
„Operations like „Pirates 3“ show how European cooperation achieves tangible results“, said the Frontex spokesperson. “By pooling our expertise and intelligence with our partners at Europol, EUIPO and Member States, we are sending a clear message to criminal networks that the EU's external borders are not open to exploitation.“
The “Pirates 3“ Joint Action Days took place in the framework of EMPACT —a pan-European security initiative bringing together Member States, EU agencies and international partners to tackle the most serious criminal threats facing the Union.