From 5 to 9 August 2024, the World Customs Organization (WCO) conducted a scoping mission under the Synthetic Drugs Detection Project (SDDP) Mail Channel Initiative (MC). The mission included site visits to the Postal Customs, the air cargo terminal, canine training center, premises of express couriers and postal operators, including the recently launched international mail processing center.

Through series of meetings with relevant officials from the Customs, the Mongol Post LLC, and the Anti-Narcotics Unit of the General Police Department, WCO experts observed the postal and air cargo clearance procedure, information flow, risk assessment and targeting processes, challenges encountered in the overall efforts by the Mongolian Customs to combat synthetic drug trafficking.

Additionally, the experts identified areas requiring further capacity building and provided recommendations aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of the current systems and practices and improving the safety and security of the officers handling potential synthetic drugs trafficking cases.

The best practices observed during the mission are incorporated into the exchange of experiences to be shared among the project participants, comprising both Customs and Postal officers in the Asia Pacific region. This exchange facilitates a better understanding between the two sectors and fosters effective cooperation on mail channel controls while strengthening internal coordination and international cooperation to effectively combat the activities of Organized Crime Groups (OCGs).

The SDDP-MC is part of the WCO Drugs and Precursors Programme and a joint collaboration between the WCO, the Universal Postal Union (UPU), and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), funded by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) at the U.S. Department of State .