ISMI to Train Police, Navy and Custom Officers on Container Targeting and Control

The Interregional Institute of Maritime Security (ISMI), in collaboration with the French Customs Administration represented by the Regional Custom Attaché, organizes a professional training on the targeting and control of containers from December 11 to 14, 2018 in Yopougon, Abidjan.

The training which is supported by the Ivory Coast and the French cooperation through the Department for security and defense cooperation (DCSD) will draw 30 participants such as police, navy and custom officers from 14 countries of the Gulf of Guinea to build their capacity in order to clamp down perpetrators.

Experts from joint container control units of Benin and Senegal, as well as French customs will provide deeper lessons and technical training to equip participants to effectively execute their mandate.

A statement issued by ISMI indicated that West and Central Africa have been experiencing since the 2000s an exponential growth of the use of containers, together with a modernization of infrastructures.

Alongside this legal trade, ISMI noted that this trade vehicle is also used by fraudulent organizations to engage in all kinds of illicit trafficking such as narcotrafficking, fake drugs, protected species, weapons and many more.

This upsurge requires repressive administrations to adapt by investing in technical means and specific capabilities that will enable it specialize in targeting risky operations and controlling containers.