On 6 December 2018, the Container Control Programme (CCP) has won the prestigious 2018 Bureau International des Containers (BIC) Award, presented to an individual or organization for noteworthy contributions relating to the advancement of safety, security, standardization or sustainability in the fields of containerization and intermodal transportation.

Each year, the BIC’s Board of Directors select a single candidate from a pool of industry nominees. The CCP received the 2018 accolade on account of its sustained commitment, which demonstrated its continuing positive results with respect to enhancing security in the container supply chain and in combating the trafficking of illicit goods.

The CCP, developed jointly by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the,United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)  has been praised for its successes in delivering capacity building programmes, promoting advance risk assessment, and facilitating coordination and communication between Customs and other law enforcement authorities around the world.

Its mission is to assist Members of WCO and UNODC seeking to improve their risk management, supply chain security and trade facilitation efforts at sea, land and airports in order to prevent the cross-border movement of illicit goods.

At present, the CCP is operational in 50 countries and has initiated activities in 10 other countries. More than 80 Port Control Units (PCUs) and Air Cargo Control Units (ACCUs) have been established since the CCP’s inception in 2004. As the CCP continues to expand its regional global network of PCUs and ACCUs, the programme remains ideally placed to support the strengthening of international supply chain security by building the capacities of national border agencies in tackling threats related to sea, land and air cargo and developing cooperation among national law enforcement authorities and private sector entities such as port operators and shipping lines.

These inter-agency units are equipped to exchange information with their counterparts in other countries using a secure communication application, developed by the WCO, called ContainerComm, which provides PCUs and ACCUs with access to a wealth of information that allows users to track, profile and identify high risk containers, verify their identification numbers and send out alerts to other PCUs and ACCUs.

These efforts have resulted in seizures of a wide range of prohibited goods, such as weapons, proceeds of fisheries, forest, wildlife and other environmental crimes, prohibited drugs, strategic goods, falsified or unlicensed medicines, precursors for drugs and weapons, cigarettes, and goods which are counterfeit or otherwise violate intellectual property law.

The WCO and the UNODC are extremely grateful to have the achievements of the CCP recognized at this level and will continue to strive for a well-trained, globally coordinated and multisectoral response to illicit trafficking.