Secretary General of the World Customs Organization, Kunio Mikuriya, likened the job of countering smuggling to a cat and mouse game.
Smugglers were constantly changing their modus operandi and therefore customs officials world wide had to constantly upgrade their detection skills and information sharing, Mikuriya told a Press conference yesterday.
Mikuriya said it was important for officials to work with organizations such as the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC).
He spoke to the Press after the opening ceremony of the week-long 33rd annual CCLEC conference at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
“Counterfeiting and piracy have become problems, so what we are doing is developing increased information [gathering] from rights holders and stakeholders to pass to our on-the- ground customs officers . . . [so] they can identify contraband,” he said.
Mikuriya also said they were utilizing modern technology in the form of e-training to provide essential information.
In a presentation earlier, he said there were four Ps necessary for worldwide customs officers to be successful: Political support; properly trained personnel; partnerships and performance measurement.
The keynote address was given by Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Christopher Sinckler. He said the role of customs administrations was no longer solely to collect revenue as they play a pivotal role in implementing important government policies.
He said there were greater challenges than ever facing customs officials and praised the CCLEC for placing greater emphasis in promoting capacity building initiatives. (CA)
