Stolen cars, boats and engines, together with more than 7.4 tonnes of cocaine and 10.6 million cigarettes, were seized in operation Joint Action Days (JAD) Mobile 9 across 26 countries against cross-border crime, led by Frontex and supported by INTERPOL. In total, more than 700 vehicles and 34 boats were seized and 334 people were arrested.
Participating countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain, together with Albania, Kosovo*, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Switzerland.
“A stolen car can cross several borders in a very short time. If we want to stop it, information has to travel just as quickly. That means officers in different countries sharing what they know and acting on it together. This operation shows what that cooperation can achieve. Frontex helps make it possible, but it is the people on the ground who deliver the results,” said Hans Leijtens, Executive Director of Frontex.
Officers carried out checks at border crossing points and ports, covering 150,631 people, 129,286 vehicles, 39,322 documents, 2,721 boats and 1,393 boat engines. They targeted stolen vehicles as well as the drugs, cash, weapons and other illicit goods smuggled with them. In 75 cases, the findings were linked to the Most Threatening Criminal Networks and Individuals (MTCNI) targeted under EMPACT, with 51 related arrests in Greece, Lithuania, Portugal and Spain. In total, Frontex officers were involved in 25% of all stolen vehicle detections at the external borders.
In parallel with the operational activities, Frontex organised a series of online awareness sessions attended by approximately 1,300 participants. Experts delivered presentations on licence plate fraud, heavy machinery crime, cross-border vehicle crime and vehicle identification techniques, further strengthening operational cooperation and knowledge sharing among participating authorities.
Frontex hosted the coordination centre at its headquarters in Warsaw from 28 September to 9 October 2026, where national representatives worked side by side to exchange information in real time and follow up cases across borders. In the field, Frontex Standing Corps officers supported the national authorities at border crossing points, ports and airports with second-line checks, document and vehicle examinations and interviews.
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
