The SECI Regional Center for Combating Transborder Crime, the only such kind of organization headquartered in Romania, has been in existence for 10 years since the signing of the Cooperation Agreement.
The 9th of December is marking also a new beginning. The SECI Center will transform into SELEC - Southeast European Law Enforcement Center - once the document signed today in Bucharest by officials from the 13 member countries is ratified.
The first cases solved at the beginning of millennium targeted large networks that were sexually exploiting young girls from the region. In parallel, very good cooperation was developed in the fight against drug trafficking. In time, organized crime in the region reoriented itself to new activities to produce illicit profits. Thus, the first regional cases of cyber crime appeared.
In its 10 years of activity, the number of common investigations coordinated through SECI Center reached 150. The number of exchanged messages continuously increased from 315 in 2001 to 9,196 in 2008.
Police and Customs officers from the member states have been consistently supported by law enforcement agencies in the United States of America. FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Justice and the U.S. Secret Service were directly involved in many of the solved cases.
Maintaining flexibility of their working methods, both states and organizations with observer status were involved in solving the cases: Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, EUBAM, France, Georgia, Germania, Israel, Italia, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Ukraine, PNUD Romania, the UK, UNMIK and the United States of America.
Italy and the United States have permanent representatives in the SECI Center, while Interpol and World Customs Organization have advisory status.
