Thousands of Containers With Chinese Goods Seized at Piraeus Port

The probe led to the seizure of 2,435 shipping containers, the largest successful EU histoy. Credit: EPPO

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has charged six individuals, including 2 customs officers, for their alleged engagement successful transgression networks that flooded the EU with fraudulently imported goods from China done the larboard of Piraeus, which is majority-owned by Chinese state-owned endeavor COSCO.

The operation, known arsenic “Calypso,” led to the largest seizure of shipping containers successful EU history—2,435 containers. These containers, worthy an estimated €250 million, were chiefly filled with e-bikes, textiles, and footwear.

Piraeus transgression web flooded China’s goods into the EU

This probe targets transgression networks, chiefly controlled by Chinese nationals, that negociate the full process from importation to sales, portion committing large-scale customs and VAT fraud. The fraudulent concern model, which had been progressive for astatine slightest 8 years, caused an estimated nonaccomplishment of €350 cardinal successful customs duties and €450 cardinal successful VAT.

The EPPO has charged 2 customs officers and 4 customs brokers with offenses including mendacious certification and customs fraud, with an archetypal estimated harm to the EU fund of implicit €871,000.

Acting Director-General of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), Salla Saastamoinen, highlighted the standard of the fraud: “Calypso is yet different illustration of however administrative and transgression investigations tin enactment manus successful manus to support the EU’s fiscal interests… In total, their estimated damages were 280 cardinal successful customs duties and implicit 400 cardinal successful VAT evaded.

“This coordinated attack revealed systemic irregularities that caused hundreds of millions of euros successful harm to the EU budget, underlining some the seriousness of the fraud we look and the precise existent consequences for citizens.”

The probe began successful June

Following the June raid, Greek customs authorities astatine the larboard of Piraeus person observed a important summation successful compliance, with importers declaring goods astatine prices person to their existent value. This has resulted successful a notable summation successful revenue.

Governor George Pitsilis of the Hellenic Independent Authority for Public Revenue commented connected the success: “Cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is simply a cardinal origin successful tackling organized fiscal transgression and safeguarding the fiscal revenues of the EU and its Member States… Revenue – from some duties and VAT connected imported goods successful Piraeus larboard – is already showing an increase, reaching 143 cardinal euros successful July 2025 compared to 139,9 cardinal euro successful July 2024.”

European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi emphasized the broader connection of the operation: “Highly organized transgression networks person been specializing successful this benignant of fraud for years. They person grown accustomed to origin monolithic damages to our finances and economies with adjacent to nary risk.

“Investigation Calypso sends these criminals a elemental message: the rules of the crippled person changed, nary much harmless havens for you! Now we request to crook this spectacular occurrence into systematic work: we request dedicated and specialized police, customs and taxation investigators successful the full EPPO zone.”

Related: US Blacklists China’s Cosco, Operator of Greece’s Piraeus Port