The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) hosted the first AIRCOP specialized training in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 25 January to 5 February 2016, for 18 law enforcement officials from the Airport Security Police (PSA), Argentine Federal Police (PFA), Argentine Tax and Customs Authority (AFIP) and INTERPOL Argentina. The training took place at Ezeiza International Airport and was conducted by an Inspector from the Spanish National Police and an expert from the French Interdepartmental Anti-Drug Training Center (CIFAD) based in Fort de France, Martinique.
The two-week training covered methods to fight drug trafficking by air, targeting and risk profiling of passengers and luggage, collection and exchange of information, interview techniques, criminal network analysis and anti-corruption operations, with a strong emphasis on air cargo interdiction and forgery of documents. During the first two days of the training, experts from WCO’s Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO) in Argentina led a specialized training on the use of the WCO CENcomm system, a secure communication network that facilitates the timely exchange and use of law enforcement data between international counterparts. The inauguration ceremony of the training was attended by the Cooperation Attaché of the EU Delegation in Argentina and various high level government officials, including the Anti-Drug Trafficking Sub-Secretariat of the Ministry of Security, which is in charge of the implementation of AIRCOP in the Republic of Argentina.
In Argentina, the next step will be to create a Joint Airport Interdiction Task Force (JAITF) at Ezeiza International Airport, a multi-agency drug detection team that will work to curb transnational organized crime and staunch the flow of illicit drugs to Europe.
