Customs Risk Analysis through the ConTraffic Visual Analytics Tool

Customs risk analysis is crucial for detecting fraud and contraband goods in the massive flows of internationally traded goods. Most of non-bulk goods are transported in shipping containers and, as customs can control only about 2% of them, efficient customs risk analysis is crucial. In support to EU customs, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission has developed the ConTraffic visual analytics research prototype that is currently used by EU customs on an experimental basis. This paper presents the main architectural elements of this application and some of the custom-made visualization and user-interaction techniques employed in order to help customs explore the large volumes of shipping container data and perform route-based risk analysis. Moreover, we validate the usefulness of this application with illustrative examples of route-based risk analysis workflows than can be performed with our system.