Eighteen Customs officers from nine African countries – Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe – came together at Brussels International Airport in Belgium from 4-7 September 2012 to attend the Project GAPIN II Workshop for frontline Customs officials working at airports which was organized by the WCO, hosted by the Belgian Customs administration, and funded by the Government of Sweden.

Participants received practical training from Customs officers from Belgium and the United Kingdom, as well as from experts from the WCO Secretariat, the Belgian CITES Management Authority and the TRAFFIC Europe Regional Office. The training focused on the CITES Convention, the legal and illegal trade in wildlife, detection and investigation techniques, risk analysis and x-ray image analysis.

During a practical exercise two postal shipments originating in the Democratic Republic of Congo and destined for Turkey with a total of 17 kg of elephant ivory were detected and subsequently seized. An awareness raising session on integrity in Customs was also on the agenda and led to productive discussions amongst participants who acknowledged the importance of integrity in the context of this Project.

Once again, cooperation with national institutions, neighbouring countries and all relevant stakeholders was emphasized to successfully tackle wildlife trafficking.

WCO Environment Programme Manager WCO Integrity Development Manager

daniel.moell@wcoomd.org

patricia.revesz@wcoomd.org