Strengthening Capacity of Front-Line Officers to Counter Dangerous Substance Trafficking in Benin
COTONOU, 27-29 April 2022 - The Secretariat of the International Narcotics Control Board organized a three-day training session on rapid training on IONICS and opioids safe handling.
Under the auspices of the Global Rapid Interdiction of Dangerous Substances (GRIDS) Programme of SINCB, this initiative was focused on the knowledge of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) and their identification, the safe handling of dangerous substances such as fentanyl and the simplified use of the SINCB proprietary incident communication tool, namely the Project ION Incident Communication System (IONICS) to cut the supply networks from the consumption market of NPS and non-medical synthetic opioids.
15 law enforcement officers from the Benin Customs and Police participated in this training. A meeting with the private express courier transport sector also took place to enhance the officials' knowledge and facilitate their collaboration with the private sector partners to counter NPS trafficking via express courier services.
The Permanent Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee of Fight against Narcotic Drugs and Psychoactive Substances (CILAS), General Sidy Bachirou, on behalf of the Government of Benin, expressed his appreciation to SINCB for the training. He also expressed his wish to have a follow-up training session very soon on advanced use of IONICS and GRIDS Intelligence tool, another SINCB proprietary tool for intelligence analysis.
Prior to his intervention, the participants also expressed their appreciation for the training, requesting a follow-up session on GRIDS Intelligence tool module and the provision of more personal protective equipment (PPE) kits. Reports on national and regional trafficking trends and practical exercises were made on the last day of the training.
The Board's Global Rapid Interdiction of Dangerous Substances (GRIDS) Programme and its Project ION and global OPIOIDS Project and its Public-Private Partnerships initiatives support Governments' capacity to respond to changing trafficking, illicit manufacture, marketing and sales of NPS, synthetic opioids and fentanyl-related substances by facilitating real-time information exchange, intelligence development and actions that interdict distribution of dangerous substances.
This event was made possible by the generous support from the Government of Canada.
Click here to learn more about the GRIDS Programme
Click here to learn more about the OPIOIDS Project
Click here to learn more about the Project ION