Dedicated capacity-building and in-service mentoring exercises represent crucial and well-proven modality of learning package offered by the Passenger and Cargo Border Team (PCBT) to Port and Air Cargo Control Units (PCUs/ACCUs), deployed at key international trade and transport corridors through the UNODC-WCO Global Container Control Programme (CCP). In view of this, from May through July 2024, the PCBT organized series of mentoring and training sessions for members of PCUs in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. An added value of these sessions has been practical implementation of recommendations of the PCBT participating countries to engage to these activities the experienced PCU/ACCU members as regional experts to benefit from their regional expertise in successful interdiction and suppression of high-risk consignments.
Thus, a three-day theoretical training was held on 14-16 May 2024 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan for 27 PCU members from the Customs Service under the Government and the Drug Control Agency under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan to further sustain their knowledge and capacities in risk-based and intelligence-informed detection and interdiction of drugs, synthetic drugs, precursors, concealments, and investigation of crimes related to drugs. The training, led by Mr. Svetlan Savov, WCO expert and Mr. Shahrukh Mehboob Khan, in-house UNODC expert trainer, provided trainees an opportunity to improve their expertise in profiling and detecting a diversion of narcotic drugs, precursor chemicals, as well as knowledge of the emergent ways and modi operandi of their potential misuse and smuggling.
The mentoring exercise was held on 24-26 June 2024 at PCU Khorog in Tajikistan for 9 officers of the Customs Service under the Government and the Drug Control Agency under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, including members of PCU Khorog.
The session focused on strengthening theoretical and practical skills of PCU members in profiling and inspecting high-risk consignments, utilizing modern Customs control techniques, establishing, and maintaining effective container controls that serve to prevent drug trafficking and other illicit activity to facilitate legitimate trade, as well as mentoring on issues, emerging in the PCUs’ routine operation. The session was delivered by Mr. Svetlan Savov, WCO mentor. Cargo profiling and risk analysis work with regard to inbound and outbound commodities at border checkpoints Tem and Ishkoshim was performed as part of mentoring exercise.
On 02-04 July 2024, at mentoring exercise, held by Ms. Sandra Wens, WCO expert at Customs posts Irkeshtam and Dostuk covered by PCU Osh, 13 officers from the Customs Service under the Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic deployed at PCUs Batken, Bishkek, and Osh enhanced their expertise on cargo profiling of high-risk consignments at these posts, explored cases of physical inspection of containers and trucks, new techniques and methods for the detection of concealment places and different types of seal manipulations.
Atthe next mentoring session, conducted on 08-10 July 2024 at Morport and Kuryk Customs posts on Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan by Ms. Sandra Wens, WCO mentor, 6 PCU members from among officers from the State Revenue Committee (SRC) of the Ministry of Finance and Border Service of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan, deployed at these Customs posts had an opportunity to strengthen their expertise and skills in continuously improved risk management and profiling techniques with regard to inbound and outbound sea shipments. Facilitation of the Unit’s operations on detecting the high-risk shipments, planning and division of responsibilities, including practical exercises on high-risk cargo targeting, reporting, and applying the lessons learned has been part of the mentoring session.
The PCBT Regional Segment for Central Asia is funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and the Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Program, as well as Governments of Japan and France.
More about Global PCBT at: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/ccp/index.html
