Customs get specialist training to curb illegal gun trafficking

Customs and Excise on Monday stepped up efforts to curb the smuggling of illegal firearms, with 20 customs officers beginning specialist training to identify and disrupt the trafficking of illegal firearms amid growing concern about the regional flow of small arms.

“The current surge in firearm use makes further strengthening of customs capabilities essential,” said the acting Comptroller of Customs, Cheryl-Ann Cumberbatch, said as a five-course detection course began at Customs House, the Leroy Trotman Building at University Row.  

“The current upscale of firearm usage now requires us to go further by improving customs detection and interdiction knowledge and skills. The training therefore comes at a very critical time.”  

The five-day National Training on Small Arms and Light Weapons Identification and Illicit Trafficking Methods, hosted by Customs and Excise in collaboration with the World Customs Organization (WCO), was described as an important milestone for Barbados and the region as border authorities seek to strengthen the frontline response to firearms trafficking.  

Project coordinator for Project BOLT at the World Customs Organisation, Duncan Potter, said: “I think this is a real fundamental step forward for Barbados and because the WCO is here to help and support and mentor its members. It’s here in a way to deliver capacity building to support its members in protecting society. 

The training is in support of the regional Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, a strategic initiative aimed at reducing the illicit trafficking of weapons across the Caribbean. 

“This is a strategic document that Barbados has signed up to and this is part of the goals in what we are looking to do.

“The WCO is an implementing partner to the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap and we are very proud to be able to sit here and deliver this training.”  

It is also the first WCO small arms and light weapons training event held in the English-speaking Caribbean using regional trainers who were previously certified through the organisation’s train-the-trainer programme, he added.  

Over the next five days, the customs officers will undergo practical and theoretical sessions designed to improve their ability to detect and intercept illegal weapons entering the country.  

Potter said: “The next five days they will be training the customs persons to look at and identify what we need to look at in the threat of small arms and light weapons. There will be an intensive course looking at all the different aspects of small arms and light weapons, looking at the methods of smuggling, the methods of concealment, how legislation is used to control the movement of firearms and there will be practical exams as well.”  

Comptroller Cumberbatch said the programme comes at a critical time as Barbados and the wider region confront rising gun violence linked to illegal firearms.  

“The proliferation and trafficking of small arms and light weapons remain a significant global and regional concern, but in recent times this scourge has impacted on our borders negatively and have resulted in an upscale in gun violence,” she said.  

“These weapons contribute to crime and instability and their illegal movement across borders poses a direct threat to public safety and national security.

“As a border enforcement agency, the Customs and Excise Department plays a critical role in identifying and intercepting such threats.”

She also pointed to the ongoing collaboration between Customs and Excise and the Barbados Police Service as a key component of the country’s national security framework.  

“The existing strong partnership between the Customs and Excise Department and the Barbados Police Service, through enhanced intelligence sharing and coordinated enforcement, has enabled our collective ability to disrupt the illicit trafficking of firearms and related items.”  

The course participants will receive instruction on international legal frameworks, detection techniques and operational procedures for managing recovered firearms.  

“It will cover topics such as international legislation governing the eradication of illicit firearms and weapons, namely the UN Programme of Action on Arms, documentation, licensing and verification, firearm recovery and management and risk management,” she said.  

“Additionally, it will provide participants with the knowledge and practical skills required to properly identify small arms and light weapons and to better understand the methods used in their illicit trafficking.” 

Project BOLT is a WCO initiative focused on helping Caribbean customs administrations combat the illicit trafficking of small arms, light weapons and narcotics.

It is run in partnership with CARICOM IMPACS (the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security) and is supported by the United States Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). (SZB)