From September to November 2019, SEACOP will be delivering its last round of intelligence trainings (practical, mentoring) to Caribbean customs and law enforcement officials as to strengthen their capabilities in the fight against transnational organised crime and illicit trafficking by sea.
On 2-5 September, SEACOP delivered its third JMCU mentoring event in Kingston, Jamaica. The event was the opportunity for SEACOP MIU team to provide significant input to participants, who searched various vessels as part of the training. From 28 October to 23 November, SEACOP will deliver its final JMCU mentoring sessions in the Caribbean. 48 participants from over 14 agencies will be attending this event.
In addition to capacity building training activities, SEACOP teams have achieved tangible results. On 1st September, the Barbados MIU and JMCU teams seized some 40 kilos of cannabis hidden under a container vessel coming from Jamaica. The drug had been concealed in an underwater parasitic attachment. This seizure was made possible thanks to the close collaboration and intelligence sharing between the Barbados and Jamaican teams. On 6 September, the MIU and JMCU teams from the British Virgin Islands conducted a joint exercise during which they seized US$250,000 aboard a leisure vessel coming from the US Virgin Islands.
Finally, SEACOP officers from Dominica, Montserrat, Barbados and St Kits and Nevis MIUs have recently joined the Joint Regional Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Barbados. This initiative formed under the CARICOM IMPACS in the Caribbean was recently expanded to include a regional maritime intelligence hub.
