International Law Enforcement IP Crimes

Conference

HANOI – VIETNAM
23rd -25th September, 2014

John E. Mponela
AgDCPA
Dar es Salaam
17th April, 2015

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 1.0 Introduction
• Trafficking in illicit goods and counterfeiting are
trans-national, large scale crimes run by
extensive and complex criminal enterprises;
• These crimes cross national borders, time-
zones, languages and jurisdictions;
• Generate huge lucrative profits used to fund
other criminal activities such as drug trafficking,
terrorism and human trafficking;
• Counterfeiting/other form of IP crimes, has a
very negative impact on the economic growth of
the nations of the world;

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 Introduction cont…
• The Interpol IP crime conference is an annual
event where delegates from around the world
meet and discuss operational best practices
and forge partnerships in order to reduce the
impact of the crime on their respective
economies and societies;
• The 2014 conference theme was “Global
Partnership to Turn Back Crime”

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 Introduction cont…
The 2014 conference theme intended to:
• Help build links between police and the general
public (community policing approach);
• Enhance collaboration among stakeholders in
the fight against such crimes;
• Share best practices;
• Integrate operations across borders;
• Provide a platform to network and build
partnerships among public and private sector
organisations.

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 Introduction cont…
The conference drew participants from Interpol
Headquarters, key stakeholders from around the
world and a total of more than 200 delegates from
80 countries worldwide.

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 2.0 Objective of the Conference
• Create awareness
• Generate engagement
• Encourage action

This is to be accomplished by doing the following:

• Raising Public Awareness of the nature of the
organised crime
• Influencing desirable consumer behaviour
• Encourage best practices in the business sector
• Influencing policy makers
• Increasing partnerships

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 Objective cont…
• Promoting the role of interpol and the world’s
police in combating such crimes.

The conference brought together police, customs

officers, regulatory authorities, Specialist IP
crime investigators and prosecutors, so that
they could learn from each other, thereby
building their capacity in order to empower them
to be better equipped in delivering operational
successes back home.

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 3.0 The Conference
The conference programme covered a period of
three days and was centered on the question,
“How do we tackle the scourge of trafficking in illicit
goods and counterfeiting.”

• Emphasis on the need to collaborate, cooperate

and coordinate among stakeholders;
• IP crimes perceived as “soft” and victimless crime
in some jurisdictions;

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 The Conference cont…
• Tackled through comprehensive strategy that
encompasses effective cooperation between
industry, law enforcement and government
agencies through operations, training, capacity
building and awareness raising;
• Inform the public by highlighting the danger of
organised crime and its effects on day to day
lives of the people;

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 The Conference cont…
• Launch campaigns carrying messages such as:
• “Organised crime starts with money; don’t let
it be yours”; or “Know the Risks, Stay safe”
• How personal choice impacts the safety of our
world. For instance; a consumer who buys a
fake mobile phone might be getting a cheap
deal but the money could be fuelling an illegal
drug or arms trade;

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 The Conference cont…
• In early 2014 Interpol launched the “TURN BACK
CRIME” campaign that was meant to harness the
use of media in raising public awareness:
• Website: www.turnbackthecrime.com will be the
reference point for campaign information and
materials;
• PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS: A
series of videos to convey public awareness
messages in a visual and memorable way
• SOCIAL MEDIA: The latest news and updates
via Twitter, facebook, google+, Youtube, blogs
and instagrams.
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 The Conference cont…
• PRINT PUBLICATIONS: Information packs,
brochures and posters will be available to all
stakeholders to help spread the word and to
support events;
• MERCHANDISING: wrist-bands, T-Shirts,
Hats/Caps, pens and notepads will reinforce
the campaign identity.

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 The Conference cont…
Since the preceding conference held in Dublin,
Ireland (2013), a series of highly successful
operations have been conducted worldwide:
• Operations Alisuyo-Dec 2013 South America
• Operation White Mercury – late 2013
• Operation Opson III – Dec 2013
• Operation Jupiter IV – 2014
• Operation Wipe Out April/June 2014
• Operation Sha heen – march 2014
• Operation Real – May 2014 Vietnam
• Operation Black Poseidon – 2014 Central and
Eastern Europe)
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 4.0 Conclusion
• The conference was an eye opener. It provided
an opportunity to network and learn from each
other the best practices in dealing with the vice
of counterfeiting and trade in illicit goods;
• In particular it stressed raising public awareness
on counterfeiting by sharing experiences using
social media to combat crimes especially
counterfeiting and piracy (twitter, facebook,
youtube, blogs, whatsapp, instagram, etc);

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 Conclusion cont…
• The campaign means to reach the:
• Business Community
• Private Sector
• General Public

• It is designed to encourage partnership between

these groups to fight back crime, by engaging
world press, general public to take action from
street level to all levels and where necessary to
use celebrities to raise awareness.

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