DUSHANBE, September 29, 2008, Asia-Plus — Today, a group of representatives of Tajik power-wielding structures, numbering eight senior members of the Border Guards, Drug Control Agency, Ministry of the Interior and Customs Service, left for Europe to participate in an important study tour to drug profiling units at major European airports and railway stations. The tour runs through October 3.
The study tour is part of the European Commission’s program on Drugs Action in Central Asia (CADAP) according to the BOMCA/CADAP Office in Tajikistan. The Tajik delegation is joining their colleagues from the other Central Asian countries which also benefit from the CADAP program.
During the tour the participants are visiting Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, and Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. The aim of the tour is to show the latest techniques and systems used in Europe for profiling and catching potential traffickers and carriers of illegal drugs using public transport (airways and railways).
The study tour will be followed by a regional seminar of all participants on the tour, to exchange experiences and opinions and to promote the concept of drug profiling across the region. The seminar will be held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on November 11-12 2008.
The CADAP program is currently building and equipping 5 drug profiling units at railway stations and airports in Tajikistan. The main task of Drug Profiling Units (DPUs) project under CADAP is to support multi-agency DPUs located on the main narcotics trafficking routes across Central Asia.
The BOMCA/CADAP programs have been operating in Tajikistan since 2004, providing infrastructure, equipment and training support to its major beneficiaries – the Border Force, Customs and other law enforcement agencies. The BOMCA and CADAP programs are a fundamental part of the EU Strategy for Central Asia.
