Establishing Air Cargo Control Unit in Kazakhstan under UNODC-WCO Global Container Control Programme

From 11 to 21 February 2020, UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia jointly with the State Revenues Committee of the Ministry of Finance Republic of Kazakhstan organized the second phase of the two-week Specialized Training on Air cargo Control for the representatives from the State Revenue Committee and the Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural development of the Republic of Kazakhstan under the UNODC-WCO (World Customs Organization) Global Container Control Programme in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The training is continuation to the first phase training conducted on 25 September-4 October 2019 and series capacity building activities aimed to strengthen air cargo controls at Almaty International Airport to minimize the risk of air freight being exploited for trafficking of illicit drug and  dual use items, transnational organized crime that threaten aviation security.

Officials from Customs, Civil aviation and Airport Cargo authorities of Kazakhstan who participated in the previous phase of the training had opportunity to strengthen their knowledge and skills in targeting high-risk air consignments related to illicit drugs, dual use items, small arms, CITES, abandoned shipments as well as learn about modern trends in smuggling, concealments and examination techniques. Under experienced WCO trainers’ guidance, the participants conducted operational planning, including elaborating an overview on air freight processes, collecting airway bills and flight manifests, analysing risk indicators and establishing operational network at the airport environment. In collaboration with cargo terminal managers and airline representatives the future Air Cargo Control Unit (ACCU) members of Almaty International Airport executed the simulation action plan on profiling suspicious shipments of incoming cargo flights and developed guidelines on the insider threat. The participants also had been familiarized with advanced software applications including flight radar and WCO AirCargoCOMM to be used in ACCU operations. CCP jointly with the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan is process of establishing a dedicated ACCU Team at Almaty international airport, Kazakhstan.

The CCP Regional Segment for Central Asia is funded by the Government of Japan and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), and the Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Programme. 

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