“Customs must be modern and agile to preserve the economic sovereignty of the French State”, indicates Denis Martinez, interregional director of customs for the Grand Est in the preamble to the report on the year 2021. “It supports companies in the Grand Est internationally to improve their export attractiveness. And, in particular, with the implementation of Brexit and the reestablishment of customs formalities with the United Kingdom. Our mission is also to fight against drug trafficking, contraband tobacco, counterfeits, financial fraud, weapons, fight against illegal transfers of waste to protect consumers. »
–
The e-commerce boom
“20% of goods sold in France come from e-commerce,” says Damien Lehmann, deputy to the interregional director. “22% of online purchases are imports from countries outside the European Union. The implementation of the EU VAT package in July makes it possible to fight against VAT avoidance and restore fair competition. Another surprise: the explosion in the volume of parcels at Vatry regional airport makes it the second largest express freight office in France. »
–
Record year for drug seizures
Of the 115 tonnes of narcotics seized nationally, 4.48 were seized in the Grand Est. That is 1,224 cases which led to the seizure of 4.1 t of cannabis, 49 kg of cocaine, 43 kg of heroin and 46 kg of synthetic drugs. “With a 15% increase, it’s a record year,” underlines Roger Veillard, regional director in Mulhouse. “Concealment techniques are more and more sophisticated” like a Guyanese man with 95 cocaine pellets (1.06 kg) or this tanker truck loaded with 182 kg of grass (163 sachets) in its tanks of Spanish wine. 4.5 million euros (M€) of assets were seized in the Grand Est against 125 at the national level.
–
Tobacco trafficking: zero tolerance
“1,203 findings against 851 last year, or 22.9 tonnes seized (34% cigarettes, or 7.8 t and 54% rolling tobacco, or 12.3 t). Two-thirds of seizures involve less than 2 kg. This ant traffic has boosted our seizures,” notes Joseph Grandgirard, regional director in Nancy. “71% of this tobacco comes from Luxembourg to the Grand Est region but also to Marseille or Lyon. It’s zero tolerance: three cartridges or 200 kg, that’s the penalty! »
–
124,836 counterfeits seized
Of the 9 million counterfeits seized nationally, 124,836 were seized in the Grand Est. And more particularly: 29,972 games and toys, 7,513 perfumes and 3,742 automobile spare parts. “Fighting counterfeiting means removing from the market products that are dangerous to consumer health, such as placebos sold on the net to fight cancer and bought by people who do not have social security coverage”, recalls Mireille Rombonie, regional director in Reims. “It also means fighting against unfair competition and protecting the national market. With the development of express freight, shopping on the internet has become a real problem. »
–
