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Banjul hosts regional anti-drug law enforcers
Friday, 01 October 2010 15:44
Gambia is hosting a regional experts forum on illicit drugs trafficking and organized
crimes, aimed at reviewing and adopting a framework for regional West African Drug Law Enforcement Joint Operations, PANA reported from here Thursday. The experts' forum brought together anti-drug officials from all ECOWAS member states, including the host.It seeks, among others, to examine the current challenges facing the region, including the often-evolving modus operandi of traffickers and their associates.
It will also identify best practices that have shown significant results elsewhere; and recommend for adoption, at the regional level, a framework for efficient, reliable and rapid cooperation in drug law enforcement.
Secretary General and Head of the Civil Service, Dr. Ngogu Bah, described the West African Joint Operation (WAJO) that was set up by the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in collaboration with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (USDEA) as 'a very good initiative'.
Bah said this should be revitalized and further strengthened throughout the region, to reduce or eradicate the supply of illicit drugs in the sub-region and further foster cooperation among drug law enforcement agencies in West Africa, especially in terms of information sharing on drugs and other related crimes.
'Since years ago, the world has been facing numerous challenges and continues to face the same challenges in the fight against drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking, which is a devastating and persisting phenomenon, which till today, no one nation or continent can boast to have eradicated,' Bah noted.
According to him, the recent seizure of more than two tonnes of cocaine in the country is unprecedented in the history of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency of the Gambia and, therefore, called for immediate attention.
ECOWAS Commissioner, Human Development and Gender, Dr. Adrienne Y. Diop stated that West Africa has increasingly been used as a transit area for drug trafficking and related organized crimes, often to locations beyond the West African region and, as a result, drug trafficking has become a heavy burden on the society as a whole.
In response to these threats, Diop noted that ECOWAS heads of state and governme nt adopted a Political Declaration in 2008 to vigorously combat this global menace, adding that the ECOWAS Commission has prepared an Operational Plan to support the implementation of the body's Regional Action Plan, also endorsed by its leaders.
'The operational plan accords large priority to drug law enforcement capacity building, improvement of inter-state cooperation and harmonization of legislations and legal practices among ECOWAS member states, as well as enhanced capacity and coordination in the ECOWAS Commission,' she said.
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