National support on detection techniques and evidence handling was provided in cooperation with the WCO Compendium of Customs Operational Practices for Enforcement and Seizures (COPES) Project. This joint INAMA-COPES support was conducted, from 1^st to 4^th August, in Kampala (Uganda).

The support was structured around two main elements: site visit and training. On Monday 1^st August 2016, the WCO delegation conducted a site visit at the Entebbe Airport. During this visit, the participants, that comprised officials from Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and Uganda Police Force (UPF) met and briefed the WCO delegation. The multi-agency officers then showed the WCO delegation the procedures for handling a consignment of goods from arrival to departure at the Entebbe Airport facility. Check-in, documentation controls, screening, shipping and storage procedures were all demonstrated. The seizure/arrest/prosecution protocols were then reviewed and the delegation was taken to observe the Police seizure area. A number of large seizures of ivory were pointed out in the Police storage facility.

The site visit was followed by the training that was attended by 28 delegates from the above mentioned Ugandan Government agencies.

During this training the delegates from the relevant agencies have been exposed to the main international best practices and procedures on detection and evidence handling with a focus on illegally traded wildlife products.

URA Commissioner Dicksons C. Kateshumbwa attended both the opening and the closing ceremony. It is worth mentioning that he said that the officers in attendance needed to be prepared to fight wildlife crime, one of the main crimes in terms of impact on Uganda’s economy. He pointed out the achievements of its administration in fighting the illegal wildlife trade. He stressed the importance of multi-agency cooperation in fighting the illegal wildlife trade and he described this training as an example of how joint training and inter-agency cooperation could contribute to fight wildlife crime.

The INAMA Project is funded by the US Department of State, Sweden, the German Agency for Development Cooperation (GiZ) and the CITES Secretariat). This particular support was funded by the US Department of State.

For more information about this training and the WCO-INAMA Project, please contact the WCO-INAMA project manager, Marco Foddi (marco.foddi@wcoomd.org). For more information on the COPES project, please contact Mr. Gilles Thomas (Gilles.Thomas@wcoomd.org).