This was a record-breaking seizure for the European Union. On Monday, September 15, the European Public Prosecutor's Office announced that since June, it had sealed 2,435 containers in Greece, filled with electric bicycles, clothing, and shoes, with a total estimated value of €250 million. The goods were intercepted at Piraeus, Greece's main port, which has become a key point in Beijing's strategy to distribute its products to Europe and expand its soft power. Since 2016, the Chinese state-owned company Cosco Shipping has managed most of the Greek facility, under a contract running until 2052. Since Cosco's arrival, the company has continually expanded the port's capacity, making it the fourth largest container port in Europe in 2023 (according to the specialized website Porteconomics).

The operation, codenamed "Calypso" after the Greek nymph captivated by Odysseus, revealed a criminal network flooding the EU market with goods fraudulently imported from China while evading customs duties and VAT. Prosecution has already begun against six people, including two Greek customs officers, for their alleged involvement in this trafficking, the European Public Prosecutor's Office said.

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