Following the ongoing collaboration between the Customs Division of the Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC) and the French Customs Authority of the Reunion Island, last week, as part of its strategy to strengthened border protection, a group of fifteen staff members from the SRC attended a training dedicated against the fight of narcotics within the Indian Ocean.
Aimed at equipping the staff members with the latest techniques and approaches in detecting possible trafficking of narcotics plus fraudulent documentation arriving through post, courier services and seaport, the training facilitated by two experts from the Reunion Island, Mr. Stephane Gannat and Mr. Faize Lokhat, comprised of both theory and practical sessions.
Staff members hailing from the airport terminal, cargo, examination, export, boarding and tax offices, who joined the training had the chance to grasp the technical know-how of passenger profiling, the competencies to enhance border protection against illegal drug trade as well as how to better address drug-related threats and its challenges to effectively maintain border protection.
Ahead of the start of the training an opening ceremony was held at the SRC training room at the cargo terminal in the presence of the Ambassador of France to the Seychelles, H.E Mrs. Olivia Berkeley-Christmann, key members of the Customs management team along with the participating staff members and facilitators.
To note, the SRC maintains a long standing relationship with the French Customs Authority dating back to 2019 following discussions held with the office of the French embassy in regards to the technical aid program between the French and the Seychelles Government.
In November 2019, the first group of Customs Experts from Reunion Island imparted their knowledge to the SRC Customs staff members mostly operating at the Passenger Arrival Terminal to improve the interception capacity of the team in trafficking of narcotics.
The training was also held in May 2022 to further elevate Seychelles capability towards border protection.