UNODC and the Brazilian Federal Police (DPF) sign a Cooperation Agreement

 

Brasilia, 2 September 2016 - The Brazilian Federal Police (DPF) signed an interinstitutional cooperation agreement with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to facilitate mutual cooperation between the Airport Communication Project (AIRCOP) and the International Programme for Police Cooperation in Airports (INTERCOPS).

AIRCOP, funded by the European Union (EU) under the Instrument Contributing to Stability and Peace, and implemented by UNODC, in partnership with INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization (WCO), is a multi-agency, anti-trafficking initiative which strengthens detection, interdiction and investigative capacities of law enforcement officials in participating airports. AIRCOP contributes to the fight against transnational organised crime and addresses the challenge of a fragmented law enforcement approach by promoting regional and trans-regional cooperation as part of the EU Cocaine Route Programme. INTERCOPS is a programme created by the DPF to facilitate the exchange of experiences and information in the area of criminal investigation, immigration and security in international airports, with a focus on the repression of drug trafficking and criminal activity in international airports.

 

Brazil becomes the eighth country in Latin America and the Caribbean to join the AIRCOP network, following Argentina, Colombia, Panama, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Jamaica and Barbados. The agreement paves the way for São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, the busiest in Latin America by passenger traffic, with more than 39 million passengers in 2015, and which reports among the world's largest number of cocaine seizures, to connect to international law enforcement databases and communication networks provided by INTERPOL and WCO, enabling the real-time transmission of operational information and intelligence to other international airports, with the objective of intercepting illicit shipments.

Meanwhile, INTERCOPS will facilitate, as it has already been doing for the past two years, the participation of officials from AIRCOP Joint Airport Interdiction Task Forces (JAITFs) in regular INTERCOPS operations and best practice exchange programmes, as well as provide its experts to lead trainings on drug interdiction in passengers and cargo in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

The agreement was signed by Mr. Leandro Daiello Coimbra, Director General of the DPF and Mr. Rafael Franzini, UNODC Regional Representative for Brazil and the Southern Cone. The EU was represented by Ms. Claudia Gintersdorfer, Minister Counsellor of the EU Delegation to Brazil. Mr. Sergio Naranjo, UNODC AIRCOP Project Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean, was also present.

Currently, the AIRCOP network includes 26 beneficiary and associate countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, which have recorded impressive results to date, with 655 seizures and 696 arrests, including 1,410 kg of cocaine, 903 kg of cannabis, 837 kg of methamphetamine and over 4M US dollars.

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