As part of the COPES Programme, two training events, organized jointly with Brazilian Customs (Receita Federal do Brasil), were held in short succession from 20 to 24 November 2017 and from 27 November to 1 December 2017 in Curitiba. The first was designed for Heads of Service and officials of Brazilian Customs responsible for traditional Customs duties carried out at border crossings (land borders, ports and airports). The second was aimed at an audience chiefly made up of administrative staff responsible for handling investigative procedures.
Brazilian Customs had asked for assistance from the WCO, having embarked on an overall process of modernization which included improvements to its enforcement regime (Action Plan on Enforcement). Because it encompasses the whole spectrum of Customs enforcement activities, from fraud detection to the collection of evidence, seizure of goods and successful prosecution, the COPES Programme was particularly well equipped to help with this request. The COPES team thus made this project a focus of its attention. As well as extending the length of its training events from 3 to 5 days, it put in place new modules to meet the specific needs of Brazil1.
These training events were also the occasion for the official accreditation of the first COPES Regional Trainer for the Americas and Caribbean Region. This accreditation is the culmination of a process started last July in Washington DC. Following a train-the-trainer event held jointly with the two US agencies United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), 10 Customs officials from that region had been pre-accredited. Their role will be of crucial importance as they will promote and disseminate top-quality expertise, collected from our Members and forming an inherent part of the COPES Programme.
For more information on the COPES Programme, please contact Mr. Gilles Thomas (gilles.thomas@wcoomd.org).
1The COPES programme currently offers its members two comprehensive training courses. The first covers good practice in the collection of evidence and in seizures, making for high-calibre investigations and effective prosecutions. The second offers a training curriculum in investigative procedures, both administrative and judicial. This training is flexible and can be applied both to money laundering and to trafficking in dual-use goods and narcotics.