The EPLO organized a study visit of Turkish customs officials in Greece on 18-22 June 2007, within the framework of the Twinning Project “Support to Turkey’s Efforts in the Full Aignment and Enforcement in the Field of Intellectual Property Rights with a Focus on Fight against Piracy”.
The Turkish delegation consisted of customs officers Mr. O. Ozaydinlik, Ms. H. Bayrak and Ms. A. Turkyilmaz. The delegation had meetings with Mr. A. Zobolas at the Service for Special Controls of the Hellenic Ministry of Finance, and Ms. E. Gialouri at Directorate 33 of the Hellenic Ministry of Finance. The delegation also had the opportunity to visit the Patras Port Customs Headquarters, the “El. Venizelos” Airport Customs Authorities, as well as the 5th Customs Branch in the port of Piraeus.
The Turkish delegation was given the opportunity to participate in on-site investigations conducted by the customs authorities on imported goods, and was introduced to the techniques that the Greek customs officers and their specially trained teams use in order to examine parcels, regular mail, containers, shipments and even cargo freighters. In addition, special insight was offered as to the ways of identifying goods or shipments that are used to smuggle illegal substances into Greece.
