In this context, Dr. Amado Philip de Andrés, UNODC Regional Director for West and Central Africa, stated: "This year's World Drug Report confirms that West and Central Africa is severely affected by the drug problem, with prevalence estimates for cannabis and pharmaceutical opioid use above global averages. Increasing seizures and keeping up the pressure on traffickers are efforts that need our full attention and resources."
This issue is of particular concern for the Gambian authorities who have expressed the need to strengthen the capacity of their border officials. To meet this need, UNODC, in collaboration with the Drug Law Enforcement Agency of The Gambia (DLEAG), organized a five-day training in Banjul for law enforcement officers posted at the borders on September 19-23, 2022.
This activity brought together thirty-two participants from several law enforcement agencies including the Gambia Police Force (GPF), Interpol, the Gambia Immigration Department (GID), the Drug Law Enforcement agency and Customs to strengthen interagency cooperation. The training was conducted by national trainers from DLEAG and Customs who benefited from a UNODC Training of Trainers (ToT) program and had to carry out a transfer of knowledge session, highlighting the skills needed to effectively detect and investigate cases of illicit trafficking and organized crime at border entry points, as well as to provide participants with a platform for discussion and to brainstorm on techniques to intercept cases of organized crime.
The participants stressed the usefulness of this practical and interactive training to deepen their knowledge, exchange best practices in detecting and investigating cases of illicit trafficking and organized crime and strengthen inter-agency cooperation at border areas to combat effectively and efficiently organized crime in the region.