Interpol’s Trafficking in Illicit Goods and Counterfeiting Unit  was the lead in an operation Codenamed Maya II, a two week operation that ended in June. Working in coordination with other national law enforcement, fake goods with an estimated value of $60 million were seized across 19 countries and territories as part of a coordinated operation in the Americas and the Caribbean.

In one of the seizures, organized crime networks had infiltrated a distribution supply chain and were selling fake merchandise alongside the genuine in a shopping center in Santo Domingo. Interpol worked with the head of the Dominican Republic National police, Major General Manuel Elpidio Castro Castillo, who said: “The Dominican Republic’s involvement in Operation Maya II through NCB Santo Domingo underlines our commitment to combat all forms of transnational crime, to protect citizens and society for a safer world.”

A week later, Interpol issued global arrest warrants, referred to as red notices, against FIFA officials wanted by U.S. authorities. The red notice is a criminal complaint that is put in its database and is available to world-wide criminal justice organizations.

So what’s up with Interpol these days? One hardly hears about Interpol–despite the fact that it’s getting involved more and more with counterfeit and pirated goods around the world after introducing a Trafficking in Illicit Goods and Counterfeiting (TIGX) Programme in 2012.

“Trafficking in goods” covers more than just trademark counterfeiting and is a generic term for an array of criminal activities including selling genuine goods on the black market to avoid paying taxes.

One of the first Interpol operations was Black Poseidon, a month long operation in Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine that involved working with national police and investigators in IP crime experts. Trafficked good valued at $122 million were seized and more than 1,400 individuals arrested.