Article 23 Covert investigations

At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority may authorize officers of the customs administration of the requesting Member State or officers acting on behalf of such administration operating under cover of a false identity (covert investigators) to operate on the territory of the requested Member State. The applicant authority shall make the request only where it would be extremely difficult to elucidate the facts without recourse to the proposed investigative measures. The officers in question shall be authorized in the course of their activities to collect information and make contact with suspects or other persons associated with them.

Covert investigations in the requested Member State shall have a limited duration. The preparation and supervision of the investigations shall take place in close cooperation between the relevant authorities of the requested and applicant Member States.

The conditions under which a covert investigation is allowed, as well as the conditions under which it is carried out, shall be determined by the requested authority in accordance with its national law. If, in the course of a covert investigation, information is acquired in relation to an infringement other than that covered by the original request, then the conditions concerning the use to which such information may be put shall also be determined by the requested authority in accordance with its national law.

The requested authority shall provide the necessary manpower and technical support. It shall take measures to protect the officers referred to in paragraph 1, while they are active in the requested Member State.

When depositing its instruments of adoption of this Convention, a Member State may declare that it is not bound by this Article or part thereof. Such declaration may be withdrawn at any time.