Cylinders of ozone-depleting substances seized

Cylinders of ozone-depleting substances seized    A global customs enforcement operation — code named “Sky-hole Patching II” — led to the confiscation of more than 7,500 cylinders of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) and other ozone depleting substances.
   Initiated by the World Customs Organization, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and various customs administrations, the operation seized more than 108 tons of ozone depleting substances (ODS) and 668 pieces of equipment containing ODS. These substances have been either banned or subject to strict controls under terms of the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer.

Mikuriya

   Kunio Mikuriya, WCO secretary general, said the “spectacular quantities of illegal ODS clearly demonstrates the success of this tripartite alliance against this dangerous trade and the organized criminal gangs who profit from it.”
   He urged customs administrations and their partners to continue their enforcement efforts to secure their borders from all forms of illegal and illicit trade.
   In the 2000s, illegal ODS trade was estimated to be worth about $60 million, noted Rajendra Shende, head of UNEP’s Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) OzonAction Branch.
   'Sky-Hole Patching II is helping to build awareness and encourage cooperation between the customs community and environmental authorities in combating the smuggling of ODS and enabling full compliance with the requirements of the Montreal Protocol,' Shende said.
   Built on the success of Sky-Hole Patching I, which saw 21 Customs administrations in the Asia-Pacific region seize more than 700 tons of ODS in 301 incidents from September 2006 to September 2009, Sky-Hole Patching II witnessed more than 80 countries pledge their commitment to participating in the project.
   Project Sky-Hole Patching II was conducted from May 3 to Nov. 2 to monitor the trade in ODS, prevent and detect emerging trends in illicit trafficking, and monitor gains made.
   According to the WCO, customs officials at 275 seaports and other selected points intensified their risk profiling and physical controls over several thousand shipments to identify high-risk goods, notifying one another of suspicious outgoing and incoming consignments via CENcomm, the WCO’s secure communication tool for exchanging information.
   While a number of seizures were reported from Europe, Africa and Central Asia, the majority of seizures took place in the Asia-Pacific region, notably in China, Thailand, Hong Kong, and India, the WCO said.
   Two significant examples illustrate the success of Sky-Hole Patching II:
   ' Thai Customs netted 1,200 cylinders of ODS during the operation.
   ' French Customs stopped the illegal export of 44 tons of HCFCs in two incidents.
   “A particularly interesting case was reported from the Gambia, where two tons of cocaine smuggled from South America was seized together with several dozen cylinders of CFCs C highlighting the interrelation of ODS smuggling with organized crime, in this case, narcotics smuggling,” the WCO said.
   Customs administrations were supported by National Ozone Units C government entities responsible for managing national compliance strategies under the Montreal Protocol C who shared information and provided expert advice. UNEP’s DTIE, and its Regional Offices, also supported the project with the network of WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs) playing an important role in coordinating Customs’ actions; the RILO for the Asia Pacific region acted as the Operation Coordination Unit.
   As a supplement to the National Ozone Units workshops, the Green Customs Initiative (GCI) organized eight regional Green Customs workshops to enhance the awareness of customs officers and arm them with practical skills. These workshops comprise the secretariats of multilateral environmental agreements (Basel, Cartagena, CITES, Montreal, Rotterdam, and Stockholm), as well as INTERPOL, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, UNEP, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the WCO.
   (For more details about global customs efforts to crack down on illegal shipments of toxic wastes and endangered wildlife products, read 'Targeting toxic waste,' May American Shipper, pages 8-13.)