On 12 May 2021, the World Customs Organization (WCO), in collaboration with the WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for the Asia/Pacific region (RILO A/P) and the Korea Customs Service (KCS), organized an Online Debriefing Seminar of Operation GOALS, sponsored by the Customs Cooperation Fund of Korea (CCF-Korea).
As the identification of illicit trafficking in synthetic drugs is a growing threat to international trade that needs to be addressed by Customs, Operation GOALS was initiated to promote coordinated responses by the international Customs community. This concerted action covered all means of transport including air, land, sea and mail. After a series of intense activities, the Operation was successfully concluded in March 2021, with the active participation of 79 WCO Member Customs administrations, 8 WCO RILOs, and 11 International Organizations and enforcement bodies.
The Debriefing Seminar was attended by almost 100 participants. They shared best practices and experiences in conducting the Operation and reaffirmed their commitment to deploy appropriate enforcement measures to counter synthetic drugs. The Seminar also served to enhance global collaboration and information exchange with international partners and to promote enforcement responses and proactive control measures.
During his opening address, WCO Secretary General Dr. Kunio Mikuriya highlighted that the anxiety over the health, safety and employment could accelerate the recent looming threat of synthetic drugs under the pandemic, during which E-Commerce flourished due to the restrictions on movements. He appreciated the support of all participants to Operation GOALS which became a global and joint response to the growing threat of synthetic drugs.
The WCO is committed to reinforce cooperation among Member administrations, with International Organizations and other anti-narcotic enforcement agencies through the implementation of joint operations based on the exchange of information and intelligence.