In Freetown this week (12-16 February 2024), SEACOP VI is delivering a weeklong training on Maritime Intelligence to 15 auditors from various government agencies tasked with combating drug and timber trafficking in the region.
“It is important to see that official agreements like the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Sierra Leone authorities and Expertise France as well as recommendations made during the National Steering Committee of October 2023, are taking shape,” stated SEACOP VI Regional Coordinator for West Africa Laurent Rinjonneau.
With this foundational training, SEACOP is supporting Sierra Leone in its efforts to reinforce the fight against organised criminality at sea.
➡️ The objective of the course is for officers to gain essential knowledge for maritime information analysis and targeting of vessels involved in illicit activities at sea or docking in ports.
Upon completion of this training, the selected auditors will be tasked with coordinating their maritime information processing activities with the vessel control measures implemented by the local Joint Maritime Control Unit (JMCU).
SEACOP is closely coordinating with analysts from the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (Narcotics) – MAOC (N) and experts from the GoGIN2 project, using the MSA YARIS Platform.
🗣 During the opening ceremony, the National Coordinator for Security in Sierra Leone and Director of the National Security Office (NSO) emphasised the importance of strengthening capacities in criminal activity analysis.
The SEACOP project was also commended for fulfilling its commitment, as pledged during the last National Steering Committee, to establish the Maritime Intelligence Unit of Sierra Leone.
