Operation LUDUS, an initiative coordinated by Europol, has seen millions of counterfeit toys confiscated because of the risk that they are posing to children.
Evading the EU’s strict rules on products intended for children, these fake toys can cause asphyxiation, suffocation, drowning, cuts or burns and expose children to chemical substances. Some pose choking hazards and could be ingested, while others may damage children’s hearing or sight.
Other dangers come from electronic toys whose sound levels may exceed legal decibel limits, causing irreversible hearing loss. Many toys also rely on electrical components and other combustible materials, such as batteries, which may not conform to the relevant regulations.
With the global toy market valued at up to €300 billion annually, it remains the second-most counterfeited industry globally, Europol highlighted.
It has produced a report on the distribution and dangers of counterfeit toys in the EU, Cheating the Toy World, which shows that criminal networks remain highly active and adept at creating fake toys.
Operation LUDUS was initiated in 2020 in recognition of the need for coordinated actions to target an illegal market whose vast scale and cross-border nature suggest organised crime involvement and the abuse of legal business entities.
As well as exposing children and other consumers to serious health and safety risks, these crimes cause enormous financial losses for legitimate companies and undermine brand credibility.
The latest operation saw 8.2 million packages of toys seized, with an assessed value of €8.7 million. Investigators determined that the main infringements were the presence of dangerous substances and the absence of CE marking or EU conformity certificates.
