Following a coordinated raid at the end of June 2025, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Athens, Greece, an independent public prosecution office of the European Union, has seized 2,435 shipping containers at the port of Piraeus, primarily filled with e-bikes, textiles and footwear.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Athens, Greece announced on September 15 that it has brought charges against six individuals, including two customs officers, accused of flooding the EU market with goods, fraudulently imported from China, while evading custom duties and VAT.
As stated, this is the largest seizure of containers to date in the EU.
According to EPPO officials, six individuals, including two customs officers, have been charged over their alleged involvement. Four customs brokers have been in detention since June, while one customs broker was detained on September 12.
All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent courts of law.
A record-breaking of 2,435 shipping containers have been seized by the authorities, valued at approximately €250m.
The first 500 shipping containers were seized during the raid in June. An additional 1,935 that were in transit to the EU were seized upon arrival at the port of Piraeus, bringing the total to 2,435.
The EPPO office claims in its statement that the damage to the EU budget for these e-bikes alone is conservatively estimated at €25m in unpaid customs duties and €12.5m in VAT losses.
Losses are estimated “at least €350m in customs duties and €450m in VAT,” according to EPPO report.
Since the raid in June, Greek customs authorities have observed higher compliance, EPPO said, with importers at the port of Piraeus declaring similar goods at prices closer to their actual value.
Source: European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO)
