Joint operations with INTERPOL

An operation takes three to six months to prepare. Analysis of alerts and reports makes it possible to identify a type of trafficking or a region. A plan is then drawn up with the countries concerned: objectives, scope, timetable, means. Officers are trained to recognise the targeted property.

OIMAP supplies an analysis of the BIOP, identification sheets and experts who accompany the teams. Results are recorded in real time in a common system, so that each country sees what the others have found.

In an operation devoted to archaeological objects, twelve countries simultaneously checked their airports, ports and antiques markets for ten days. More than a thousand objects were seized, three hundred of which could be quickly identified thanks to the BIOP database.

OIMAP experts authenticated the pieces on site, and several were returned to their country of origin in the following months. The operation also uncovered a network of false certificates used by several dealers.

Each operation gives rise to a review, shared with participants, and to legal follow-up in each country. Seized objects are kept safe until they are identified. Those whose origin is established are returned according to the procedure described in the Restitutions section.

The lessons feed training, guides and database updates. A summary report is published each year together with the report on trafficking.

Since 2022, specific operations have targeted online sales: monitoring of platforms, social networks and marketplaces. Analysts spot suspect listings and compare them with the BIOP database.

In 2024, an operation of this kind led to the removal of 2,300 listings and the identification of forty repeat sellers. Approved platforms cooperate in these actions.