Europol warns growing trade counterfeit pesticides worth billions euros year
01/02/2012 10:50 am
As part of its responsibility to monitor developments in the threat from organised crime in Europe, Europol has identified a growth in the trade of illegal and counterfeit pesticides. The exceptional ‘low risk – high profit’ margin, combined with the lack of harmonisation in legislation and implementation, make this a fast growing area of organised crime. The use of illegal pesticides has been detected across Europe, and North East Europe in particular has been targeted by the criminal networks involved in this activity. More than 25 percent of the pesticides in circulation in some EU Member States are estimated to originate from the illegal pesticide market. Such illegal pesticides threaten the health of farmers and consumers and pose a risk to the natural environment. Furthermore there is a risk that illegal pesticides can be used as precursors for home made explosives due to the lack of traceability.
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