Following the positive outcomes of the WCO COPES pilot organized in Peru earlier this year, the first Regional Seminar was held in Hong Kong, China from 22 to 24 September 2015.

This event took place at the Regional Training Centre in partnership with the Asia/Pacific Regional Office for Capacity Building and Hong Kong Customs. This Regional Seminar is the first in a series planned for the coming months until the end of 2016.

Mr. Thomas Lin, Hong Kong’s Assistant Commissioner of Customs, delivered the opening address at this Seminar, which was attended by 32 participants from 15 Customs services in the region: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong China, India, Indonesia, Macau China, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

This Seminar signalled the launch of the second phase of the COPES Programme, whose purpose is to promote training on the collection of evidence and its importance to the investigation and prosecution of offences. The Seminar was delivered to a group of managers and field officers, who were able to familiarize themselves with the objectives of the Programme whilst participating, as subjects and protagonists, in this highly interactive training.

A visit to the Kwai Chung warehouse, where goods seized by Hong Kong Customs are stored, provided an opportunity to illustrate, in particular, the course segments dealing with good practices when placing seized goods under seal, and means of ensuring the traceability of seized goods.

At the closing ceremony, Mr. Fan, Director of the Hong Kong Customs’ Training Centre, highlighted the importance of the COPES Programme, especially in terms of inter-agency and international cooperation in the fight against large-scale organized crime.  

For further information, please contact Mr. Gilles Thomas, WCO COPES Programme Coordinator, at: Gilles.Thomas@wcoomd.org.