CCLEC – Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council – Page 3

Capacity Building

Continually strengthening our human and physical capital through strategic planning and sustained training.

Information Technology

Realizing the vision of a highly networked Customs through the implementation of modern ICT solutions.

Border Protection

Promoting compliance to enhance global trade and travel through enhanced border security initiatives

Trade Facilitation

Facilitating fairness and transparency through systematic and standardized controls.

US customs agents intercept thousands of pounds of cocaine in Caribbean Sea

EnforcementBy Aaron Smith January 8, 2018

MIAMI, United States (CMC) — The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency says its Air and Marine Operations (AMO) detected multiple drug-smuggling vessels with 4,735 pounds of cocaine as part of Operation Full Court Press in the Caribbean Sea with interagency partners.

On Wednesday CBP said the estimated wholesale value of the drugs is US$61.7 million.

CBP said crews from Miami Air and Marine Branch and Caribbean Air and Marine Branch used “sophisticated maritime surveillance equipment to detect multiple drug-smuggling vessels as part of multi-agency operations around the holidays.”

It’s reported that the discovery was made between December 18 and December 22.

CBP said Operation Full Court Press is an Air and Marine Operations Southeast Region led operation leveraging interagency partnerships to target maritime smuggling organisations responsible for cocaine trafficking throughout the Caribbean to the United States and elsewhere for distribution.

Dec72017

Over 100 guns destined for Jamaica intercepted by US cops

EnforcementBy Aaron Smith December 7, 2017

A shipment of over 100 firearms and several rounds of ammunition destined for Montego Bay, Jamaica was recently seized by US customs.The mega bust was made by border protection agents at Miami International Airport in November during a routine inspection on a shipment.

The shipment contained two blue barrels that were said to contain personal effects.

A physical inspection revealed various food items, cat litter, a cardboard box labelled as a four-drawer dresser, and one cardboard box labelled as a television stand.

But further checks revealed that the ‘personal effects’ actually contained two rifles, 115 pistols, 139 magazines, 103 rounds of nine mm ammunition, 50 rounds of .357 ammunition, 50 rounds of .45 ammunition, 24 rounds of .40 ammunition, 40 rounds of .223 ammunition, nine handgun back straps, five magazine parts, three pistol grips, three buttstocks, and weapons parts.

The weapons were scheduled to arrive in Montego Bay from Miami via Kingston.

The Jamaican police are investigating.

Source: LoopTT

Nov142017

JIO visit to South Korea – 30th Anniversary RILO A/P

Enforcement, MeetingsBy Aaron Smith November 14, 2017

At the invitation of the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO) Asia/Pacific (A/P), the CCLEC JIO attended the ceremony held in Seoul, Korea on 6 2017 to mark the 30th Anniversary of the first RILO and the birth of the global RILO network. The JIO was one of 10 RILO’s to attend this ceremony.
The WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya was present for this ceremony.

Following the welcome address by the Korea Customs Service Commissioner, Mr. Yung-Moon Kim, Secretary General Mikuriya delivered a congratulatory speech expressing his sincere appreciation to the past four host Administrations of the RILO A/P for their services, namely Hong Kong, China (1987-1998), Japan (1999-2003), China (2004-2011) and Korea (2012- present). He recognised the gradual evolution of the RILO A/P nurtured by the four Administrations: (i) foundation (Hong Kong, China); (ii) capacity building (Japan); (iii) operations (China); (iv) and networking (Korea) with all 33 WCO A/P

Nov102017

Annual Enforcement Conference held in Miami

Enforcement, MeetingsBy News Editor November 10, 2017

The annual Enforcement Liaison Officer (ELO) conference was held on 1^st& 2^nd November 2017 in Miami. In attendance were twenty six (26) countries and representatives of WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO) from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Western Europe. The meeting was a joint effort by ODA, CCLEC and member administrations.

This annual meeting is an integral part of the CCLEC enforcement network and WCO National Contact Points. The meeting’s primary objective was to foster closer cooperation with regional and international counterparts and improve networking.

Presentations were made by a Border Force Senior Officer from International Directorate South Americas on Operation Hunter, a representative from Japan Tobacco Industry on tobacco smuggling and a former UNODC consultant, on fuel smuggling. Both the RILOs delivered presentations on work being carried out in their regions.

The JIO presented the report on Operation Caribbean Shield which was held for six weeks in the region. The Operation was focused on small arms trafficking in the region to assess the level of risk at the borders.

Nov12017

Grand Cayman Customs launches new IT System

NewsBy Aaron Smith November 1, 2017

As announced previously, today (Wednesday, 1 November 2017) the Customs Department launched Phase 1 of its project to transition from its legacy IT Platforms to its enhanced IT Platforms.

Collector of Customs Charles Clifford said, “The transition will ultimately see the phasing out of the Customs Department’s legacy IT Platforms in favor of enhanced IT Platforms which are designed to ultimately deliver effective trade facilitation and exceptional customer service while maintaining effective border control protocols.”

Deputy Collector of Customs Kevin Walton, who has responsibility for the Customs Department’s Revenue Collection Portfolio, said, “Because this is a transition, those traders who may not be ready to use the new IT Platform which is being launched in Phase 1 today will have available to them our legacy IT Platforms which will remain live and available in order to facilitate a smooth transition within a reasonable period of time before the old systems are taken offline at the end of this year”

Collector Clifford advised that customers must come in to register on the new system in order to take advantage of it advances. Registration is necessary for compliance purposes. However, it is a one time registration and once you are registered on the new system you will be able to enter your declaration online from the comfort of your home or office. You will then receive an email from the Customs Department confirming receipt and advising that your declaration will be processed within 2 hours. Once your declaration is processed, you will receive a further email advising that your goods have been released and that you should come in to pay the duties and collect your goods or alternatively that your goods have been selected for inspection and you must come in to witness the inspection.

Oct232017

ACIS – Advanced Cargo Information System Meeting

Enforcement, MeetingsBy News Editor October 23, 2017

Security protection, health protection, and increased efficiency through advance cargo detection were just three of the primary benefits presented at the recently held meeting of the Advance Cargo Information System (ACIS) Implementation and Oversight Committee (IOC) in Barbados. The meeting which was held on October 17, 2017, represented both a collective and strategic approach by regional Customs administrations towards the implementation of an advance cargo information system which was conceptualized over a decade ago in harmony with the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS).

The committee which comprised representatives from Customs Administrations within CARICOM, along with overseeing entities, CARICOM IMPACS and CCLEC, engaged in the critical discussions over the one-day meeting, outlining the operations, opportunities, and objectives of the proposed project. Central to discussions were the benefits to be derived from a collective approach to implementing the ACIS project. These benefits stemmed essentially from the stability the Electronic Manifest Management ASYCUDA System (EMMAS), the robust platform for hosting the proposed ACIS.

By adopting a collective approach, Customs Administrations are expected to see “data requirements minimized, harmonised and submission guaranteed through a single portal.” Added to this is “the opportunity to enhance cargo supply chain security through pre-arrival screening protocols and procedures to assess the level of risk and thus target shipments in a timely manner before their arrival or departure.” By contrast, the weaknesses of a singular approach would mean redundant investments in technology to adapt to country-specific needs and standards, as well as costs incurred through software licensing and operations.

Sep142017

Hurricane Irma

NewsBy News Editor September 14, 2017

Hurricane Irma will go down in history as one of the fiercest in the region and no doubt it will be etched on the minds of those who experienced it for many years to come. The structural impact will not be known for some time now but the impact on lives will be unquantifiable and beyond anyone’s imagination.

The Secretariat has heard from Customs in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, BVI, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Montserrat, St Maartin, St Martin, St Kitts and Nevis and Turks and Caicos and from initial reports received to date, while there has been significant loss of infrastructure, all Customs personnel are safe.

CCLEC extends its thoughts and prayers to all those who have lost loved ones and those who have suffered loss of property as a result of the passage of Hurricane Irma.

Jul102017

American National Arrested for firearms and ammunition

Enforcement, NewsBy News Editor July 10, 2017

The Customs Department has announced that on 7th July 2017 Cayman Brac Customs Officers arrested a 52-year-old male American national for several firearm offences.

During the inspection of a shipping container a large quantity of ammunition was recovered amongst personal belongings. Cayman Brac Customs Officers along with officers from the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service conducted a search of his residence where two unlicensed firearms were recovered.

Neither the ammunition nor the firearms were declared to Customs and they did not accompany a firearms import permit.

Acting Collector of Customs Jeff Jackson said “I wish to sincerely thank Cayman Brac Customs and the RCIPS for their collaborative approach to this detection and arrest. This is consistent with Collector Clifford’s and Commissioner Byrne’s policy to promote and facilitate joint operations by our two agencies”

Jun142017

PROMOTING CONNECTIVITY AND TRADE FACILITATION THROUGH AID-FOR-TRADE

MeetingsBy News Editor June 14, 2017

A regional outreach event on promoting connectivity and trade facilitation through aid-for-trade was held on May 25-26, 2017 at the Sheraton Hotel, Miami.

The regional outreach event was jointly hosted by the CCLEC, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). The purpose of the event was to examine the progress and impacts of aid for trade facilitation and the aid-for-trade on promoting connectivity in the Greater Caribbean, and prepare regional input for the Sixth Global Review of Aid for Trade forum to be held at the WTO in Geneva on 11-13 July 2017. In attendance were number of WTO and IDB English and Spanish countries from the region.

Jun142017

Woman busted at JFK Airport smuggling cocaine in motorized wheelchair’s cushion

EnforcementBy News Editor June 14, 2017

U. S. Customs and Border Protection agents have arrested a 33-year-old woman who was rolling around Kennedy Airport with a motorized wheelchair filled with cocaine, officials said Tuesday.

Yoncela Stanley had just landed in the U.S. on a JetBlue flight from St. Lucia on Sunday when Customs and Border Protection officers noticed something was wrong with the chair’s back seat cushion.

Stanley appeared nervous when she presented her baggage, prompting Customs agents to bring over a K-9 dog. The dog alerted the officers to the contraband, authorities said.

When the agents removed the cushion, they found it unusually heavy — probably because it was filled with more than 10 bricks of cocaine weighing about 27 pounds, officials said.

The drugs had an estimated street value of $468,000, officials said.

Stanley was charged with federal narcotics smuggling and was ordered held on $50,000 bail during a brief arraignment Monday in Brooklyn Federal Court.

“This latest seizure demonstrates the vigilance of our CBP officers, and their excellence in detecting those who would try to smuggle these illegal substances,” said Leon Hayward, acting director of field operations New York.

Source: NY Times

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CCLEC AT A GLANCE

Capacity building (or capacity development) is the process by which individuals and organizations obtain, improve, and retain the skills, knowledge, tools, equipment and other resources needed to do their jobs competently or to a greater capacity (larger scale, larger audience, larger impact, etc).

Community capacity building is a conceptual approach to social, behavioral change and leads to infrastructure development. It simultaneously focuses on understanding the obstacles that inhibit people, from realizing their development goals and enhancing the abilities that will allow them to achieve measurable and sustainable results

Protecting our borders from the illegal movement of weapons, drugs, contraband, and people, while promoting lawful trade and travel, is essential to regional security, economic prosperity, and national sovereignty

Integrity is the foundation on which our Customs administrations must be built upon, for without it we do not have the trust or confidence of the public. In June 2003, delegates attending the Customs Session of the third Global Forum on Fighting Corruption and Safeguarding Integrity, held in Korea, agreed that they had the responsibility to safeguard integrity in the Customs administrations of their respective countries, recognizing the importance of international cooperation to share their best practices and address common problems

ETHICS AND INTEGRITY

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