Illicit drugs: NDLEA strengthens airport operations

•as Marwa charges officers to deploy new skills, tools across airport operations

Selected commanders and officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have undergone a series of trainings in Advance Passenger Information Systems (API) and Passenger Targeting/Intelligence Gathering as part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen NDLEA’s operational efficiency at major airports in the country.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which facilitated the trainings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and Abuja, the workshops were designed to enhance the capacity of the Agency’s Commands at Airports to target and intercept high-risk passengers, cargo and mail, to help combat illicit drug trafficking.

A statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi on Friday said, the workshops will also help to facilitate communication and coordination between countries of origin, transit and destination to destabilise illicit cross-border flows and criminal networks.

While the Commander of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Strategic Command of NDLEA, ACGN Usman Ali Wadar and his counterpart at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, CN Mohammed Ajiya participated in the six-day training in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 13 other officers drawn from the MMIA and NAIA Commands took part in the five-day training that held in Abuja.

They are all expected to impact the knowledge and skills acquired during the sessions on their other colleagues.

The training, the statement said, was funded by the European Union, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States under the AIRCOP Airport Communication Project, implemented by the UNODC.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig-Gen Mohamed Marwa (Rtd) commended the facilitators: Ms. Fabienne Russel of UNODC and Anderson Leme Siqueira of Brazilian Customs Administration for taking their time to be in Abuja for the training after the engagement in Abidjan.

He equally praised the two NDLEA Commanders and other officers who participated in the Abidjan and Abuja training sessions for their interest and commitment and charged them to immediately reflect on the new skills and tools in their operations across the international airports in the country.

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