Brussels – Steel products worth over 5 million euros were seized at the port of Naples at the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Naples, as part of an investigation into alleged customs fraud involving certain imports from Turkey.
The EPPO is an independent body of the European Union that investigates, prosecutes and brings to trial offences that harm the EU’s financial interests. According to a press release, a total of 454 packages of steel products were seized by the Economic and Financial Police Unit in Naples (Nucleo di Polizia Economico-Finanziaria di Napoli) and the Anti-Fraud Office of the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) in Campania (Direzione Territoriale Campania – Ufficio Antifrode). In the logistics and transport sector, a consignment is a single unit of load or shipment (an independent, countable item) entrusted to a courier or carrier for transport, regardless of its weight or dimensions. House searches and searches at the premises of companies involved in import operations were also conducted, and electronic devices were seized.
The investigation was launched following a report from the ADM’s Naples office. The report concerned two imports of steel products carried out in July 2026 by an Italian company operating in the metalworking sector. The goods, of Turkish origin, were exported by a company based in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to the Italian importer, which had appointed a customs representative to prepare and submit the import declarations on its behalf.
The investigations revealed that the goods were declared as “zinc-coated steel products”, a classification that would have exempted them from additional duties on certain steel imports into the EU. However, a physical examination and laboratory analyses revealed that the products did not match the declared classification and were therefore not eligible for the exemption. It is alleged that the customs classification used for the imports was intended to “circumvent the applicable additional duties and the related VAT, causing an estimated loss of approximately €3.5 million to the EU and national budgets,” the EPPO stated. At present, the investigations are still ongoing, and the Public Prosecutor’s Office has stressed that “all persons concerned are presumed innocent until proven guilty, in accordance with the provisions of the competent Italian judicial authorities.”
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
