CCLEC – Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council – Page 4

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

Facilitation

Facilitating fairness and transparency through systematic and standardized controls.

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

Jun122017

Venezuela Joins Haiti And US As Region’s Major Illegal Guns Supplier

General, NewsBy News Editor June 12, 2017

Economic crises in Venezuela may propel that country to the position of one of the Caribbean’s largest supplier of illegal guns and ammunition, along with Haiti and the United States of America, says Anthony Clayton, professor of Caribbean sustainable development at the Univer-sity of the West Indies.

“It is not just the (illegal gun) trade with Haiti or the import of weapons from the United States. There is going to be a third major source of supply into the Caribbean region and that is Venezuela,” Clayton told The Gleaner yesterday.

Clayton said that Venezuela has more guns per person than any country in the Western Hemisphere, a deliberate move by former President Hugo Ch·vez.

Now that the economy is suffering immensely, those arms are being sold rapidly to facilitate basic survival.

“The problem we are facing is, because with Venezuela’s economic collapse, there is now evidence of weapons flooding out of Venezuela, initially into Trinidad, but which will come percolating through the Caribbean. Venezuela has got more guns per person than almost any other country in the (western) hemisphere, including the United States.”

“This is partly due to former President Ch·vez’s policy of arming the militias. Now, with the economy collapsing, a lot of them are selling their weapons and they are selling them for groceries, pharmaceuticals and basic survival items,” Clayton said.

Jun12017

CCLEC 39th Conference held in Miami

Meetings, NewsBy Aaron Smith June 1, 2017

Twenty-six (26) delegates across regional and metropolitan Customs Administrations attended the 39^thCCLEC Conference which was held at the Sheraton Miami Airport Hotel and Executive Meeting Center, from the 23^rd – 25^th May, 2017. The theme “Digital partnerships in a connected world” was underlined by two distinguished speakers, Mr. SergioMujica Montes, Deputy Secretary General, World Customs Organization (WCO) and Mr. Ian C. Saunders, Assistant Commissioner, United States Customs & Border Protection (US-CBP).

Among the participants were the Caribbean Postal Union (CPU), CARICOM Implementing Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), Regional Security System (RSS), Inter American Development Bank (IDB), SOGET, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Universal Postal Union (UPU) and the WCO.

The conference witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Caribbean Postal Union and CCLEC, the objective of the MOU being to foster greater cooperation between both entities, particularly in the area of information sharing.

A number of presentations were made on the reform and modernization of CCLEC operations, including moving the organization for one based on an MOU, to being treaty based. Reports were received on the activities undertaken by the CCLEC Secretariat and the CCLEC/WCO Joint Intelligence Office in addition to presentations related to the theme, trade facilitation and border security.

Apr102017

Velma Ricketts Walker Is New Customs Commissioner (Jamaica)

NewsBy Aaron Smith April 10, 2017

The Ministry of Finance and the Public Service has announced the appointment of Velma Ricketts Walker as the new Commissioner of Customs and Chief Executive Office for the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA).

She will assume duties on Monday, April 10.

The ministry says Ricketts Walker has more than 17 years experience in customs administration, trade facilitation, risk analysis, strategic planning, international trade, security, compliance and enforcement.

In 2011 she served as Assistant Commissioner, Compliance and Enforcement, with the Customs Agency.

She was previously employed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a Revenue Administration Adviser where she assisted regional customs administration with the development and strengthening of its risk management programs and organisational strategic reform.

Ricketts Walker takes over from Major Richard Reese, whose contract was not renewed in February.

The Finance Ministry says the with the new appointment, the acting commissioner of customs Pamella Folkes will resume her duties as Deputy Financial Secretary of the Taxation Policy Division in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service.

There had been speculation that the Government was eyeing former contractor general Greg Christie to take the reins at Jamaica Customs.

Source: Jamaica Gleaner

Jan262017

Celebrating International Customs Day 2017

General, NewsBy Aaron Smith January 26, 2017

This year International Customs Day is celebrated on January 26^th 2017 under the theme “Data Analysis for Effective Border Management’. The theme is very appropriate given the current climate as it relates to border security.

In most jurisdictions around the globe, Customs is recognized as the key law enforcement agency involved in border protection and although this job may have been onerous in the past, technological advancement offers solutions to enable Customs to execute its duties more effectively and efficiently.

Over a decade ago CCLEC introduced a database in the region to aid with border management. The Regional Clearance System (RCS) is a maritime system which facilitates pleasure crafts whilst collecting valuable data and statistics for Customs and other border agencies. Effective use of RCS data could mitigate some of the border management problems in the region. As our UK representative, Mr Jeremy Lee, puts it “The RCS is, potentially, a powerful and effective tool. From the UK perspective there is no other system like it in the world”.

Congratulations to all Customs officers, many who will be awarded for their exemplary

service.

Jan92017

Cannabis DNA database being developed

Enforcement, GeneralBy Aaron Smith January 9, 2017

A genetic science project which aims to sequence the DNA of every strain of marijuana in the world could also benefit police forces across the globe, making it easier to identify both national and international smuggling networks.

The database could enable law enforcement agencies to track the source of shipments and provide a direct link between importers and lower-level sellers.

Pylos Bioscience, based in Portland, Oregon, was founded in 2015 by microbiologist Mowgli Holmes to bring more consistency to the recreational marijuana and medical marijuana business. The drug is currently legal in eight states for recreational use and available for medical use in a further 21 states.

Phylos has 17 full-time employees and has put together a collection of cannabis strains that includes rare, ancient, specimens from museums and herbariums in Thailand, Colombia, and a dozen other countries including the UK. Marijuana breeders and private collectors from around the world have also contributed samples from their personal stashes.

Nov262016

New border control unit to improve efficiency – Saint Lucia

General, NewsBy Aaron Smith November 26, 2016

The Customs and Immigration departments along with the Marine Unit will soon form a new entity, the Border Control Unit.

The Border Control Unit will significantly augment the operations of Saint Lucia’s airports and seaports, Minister for Home Affairs, Justice and National Security, Sen. Hon. Hermangild Francis said.

All officers assigned to the unit will receive training.

“Two senior officers—one, a former comptroller of Customs and the other, a senior immigration officer—are tasked with making the recommendations,” Sen. Francis said. “As a tourist destination, we must make the transitions from the airplane or ship to the waiting bus a much quicker process.”

The Border Control Unit is expected to be launched in 2017.

Nov242016

Guadeloupe: Nearly 50 kilos of cocaine found in a fish container

Enforcement, NewsBy Aaron Smith November 24, 2016

DRUG The estimated value for resale of this merchandise, on the European continent, is around 1.7 million euros …

Guadeloupe customs officers have made a stunning discovery. Saturday night, they seized nearly 50 kilos of cocaine in a container of fish, in the port area of Jarry in Baie-Mahault.

“It was almost a routine check that led to that seizure” said Jean-Damien Moustier, Head of the Caribbean branch of Ocrtis, the Central Office for the Suppression of Illicit Traffic in Narcotics: the drug was concealed in a refrigerated container that had been damaged. As a result of this refrigeration problem, the container, proceeding from Surinam, loaded with frozen fish destined to Belgium, was “diverted” and checked by the Raizet Customs Surveillance Brigade.

Nov242016

Mexican Army seizes more than 220 kilos of cocaine in port Manzanillo

Enforcement, NewsBy Aaron Smith November 24, 2016

The drug was hidden inside heavy rollers to grind stone.

Mexico City, November 8, 2016.-

The Army-Navy Secretariat of Mexico reports that personnel assigned to the Sixth Naval Region secured yesterday at the port of Manzanillo, Colima, over 220 kilograms of a substance showing characteristics of cocain. This substance was concealed inside the rollers of a crushing machine, which was loaded aboard the ship “Laura Maersk”, Denmark flag. The final destination was the port of Manzanillo.

This action was achieved as a result of naval intelligence work. Combined efforts between staff of the Secretariat of the Navy and the Maritime Customs of Manzanillo led to the inspection of the container with canine teams, which confirmed the said illicit cargo was transported inside the rollers of the stone crushing machine, where 130 brick-shaped packages and three bags containing bulk drug were located.

Nov172016

St Kitts Hosted the CCLEC Executive Committee (EXCO) Meeting

Meetings, NewsBy Aaron Smith November 17, 2016

Exco Meeting

The St Kitts and Nevis Customs and Excise Division hosted the EXCO meeting from November 8-9, 2016. Customs Comptrollers and representatives from fourteen nations were present at the meeting including Canada and the USA.
The meeting considered a number of initiatives including:

The draft treaty

Organizational change
Implementation of RCS2016 and SailClear
Implementation of a customs valuation risk database
Development and accreditation of CCLEC’s training modules
MOUs with strategic partners

The CCLEC which was established in the 1970s has been operating as an informal organisation however it is actively pursuing the formalization of the organisation through a treaty. This is an issue of monumental significance for the organization as it seeks to increase support for its programmes through donor funding and enhance information sharing.

CCLEC NEWSLETTERS

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CCLEC AT A GLANCE

CCLEC’s commitment to capacity building is evident through sustained investments in regional Customs staff. CCLEC recognizes that the fulfillment of its mission and objectives is dependent on the strength and capabilities of this most precious resource. This commitment to training began as early as 1993 through participation with the WCO in the Diagnostic Study. Following this, some seven member countries benefited from Customs Reform Modernization (CRM) programs completed by CCLEC.

As part of its pledge to developing leadership, in 2014, CCLEC introduced the Management Training Program, through a Certificate in Customs Management and the Executive Diploma in Customs Management facilitated by Charles Sturt University in Australia.

In 2016 CCLEC launched its eLearning platform dedicated to the delivery of the two-tier training, providing introductory Customs courses as well as training in Trade Facilitation. Over the years, CCLEC has reiterated the need to effectively develop the skills and knowledge of staff. The organization maintains its C2C training commitment through the inclusion of a Training Needs Analysis Form located on its website.

The fight against the illegal drug trade remains a key focus of CCLEC and was the basis for its formation. CCLEC recognizes that illegal activity such as illegal drug smuggling; human trafficking; and money laundering adversely affects economic growth and sustainability. The Illegal drug trade in particular, severely threatens health and social life. Based on statistics collected from law enforcement agencies, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported that between 2013 and 2014, over 293,962 kilos of illegal drugs were seized in the Caribbean region. Of these, marijuana amounted to over 47,486 kilos. In 2016, Guadeloupe Customs Officers discovered some 50 kilos of cocaine in a fish container around the port area. These statistics reflect the urgency to strengthen border controls; to tighten security at ports and coastal areas in the Caribbean. CCLEC continually researches initiatives and is keen on on the adoption of emerging technologies to increase security.

CCLEC’s law enforcement arm employs assimilated information communication technology networks to combat impending threats. Crisis prevention and crisis management are the overarching aims of its intelligence models. These are realized through a number of key strategies, namely:

Effective information-seeking strategies
Monitoring and early detection
Information sharing
Swift data collection
Interpretation and analysis
Intelligence and law enforcement training

CCLEC views the development of intelligence structures as an integral block in its capacity building.

Collaboration is essential to the effectiveness of any organization. Over the years, CCLEC has maintained ties with regional and international bodies and has forged partnerships with some sixteen global agencies. CCLEC’s linkages extend to all actors in global trade and travel: government, business, academia and the citizenry. Collaboration is both extensive and rewarding. Opportunities exist to establish best practices and crisis prevention is achieved by drawing from existing case studies and research. CCLEC has drawn from additional benefits of collaboration among them training, information-sharing, short and long-term planning, bilateral agreements, and policy formation and implementation.