On 9 November the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) signed a special arrangement aimed at improving international cooperation to combat trafficking in stolen motor vehicles by allowing the WCO to directly access and use the INTERPOL’s Stolen Motor Vehicles database.
Stolen motor vehicles are likely to be trafficked across borders, sometimes ending up thousands of miles away from where they were stolen. The database allows police in INTERPOL member countries to run a check against a suspicious vehicle and instantly find out whether it is among the 7.4 million stolen vehicles currently registered in the database.
With the signing of this arrangement, WCO member Customs administrations will soon be able to access this information through the WCO Information and Intelligence Centre (I2C) which has been established to facilitate communication and coordination on Customs Compliance and law enforcement-related matters. This will enable INTERPOL information on stolen motor vehicles to be shared with national Customs administrations. This arrangement will further enhance the co-operation between Customs and the Police and is in line with the WCO’s strategy to facilitate the exchange of information relating to international crime.