A dozen maritime security officers from Togo are undergoing advanced training in ship searches, organized as part of the activities of the multi-country port cooperation project (SEACOP). Specifically intended for the staff of the mixed container control unit of the Central Office of Repression, this five-day session aims to strengthen the capacities of the administrations responsible for identifying, on the one hand, ships that may be involved in trafficking at sea and on the other, to implement effective controls, to ward off the phenomenon of corruption which jeopardizes the economic development of port logistics platforms.
Most West African countries are increasingly the target of international and transnational criminal networks of drug traffickers. These networks wanting, at all costs, to introduce illicit products there, in order to re-export them to Europe, mainly use the sea route because of the large cargoes it allows to transport. In implementing its activities aimed at supporting the efforts of partner countries in West Africa, South America and the Caribbean to set up joint port control units, the cooperation project in the Ports Maritimes (SEACOP) provides advanced training in ship searches to thirteen officers from Togo. The training which started yesterday for five days aims to strengthen and deepen the theoretical and practical preparation of these agents from the police, the gendarmerie, customs, as well as the maritime prefecture, while preserving the safety of these ships. It is therefore a question of contributing to the fight against illicit maritime trade and criminal networks in the targeted countries and regions, while respecting human rights, in order to mitigate their negative impact on security, public health and socio-economic development. This, through the integration of knowledge and know-how on maritime threats and prohibitions emanating from transatlantic illicit trafficking routes (maritime piracy, drug trafficking, armed robbery, environmental damage, etc.). ), the improvement of cooperation and the sharing of information at the national, regional and transregional levels and the strengthening of the maritime intelligence and maritime and river control network.
Kicking off the work, the chief of staff of the High Council for the Sea, Laré Penn, outlined the various mechanisms put in place by Togo to fight against scourges at sea. He said that this meeting is an opportunity to assess the theoretical and practical achievements of the basic training in ship searches in July 2022, to correct the shortcomings and to complete the training with advanced search concepts. The ambition is to make Togo a first-class logistics hub in the sub-region.
The EU Ambassador to Togo, Joaquin Tasso Vilallonga, for his part, welcomed the actions of the SEACOP project in the consolidation of State interventions at sea and reaffirmed the availability of his institution to continue its support in the fight against insecurity at sea and in the Gulf of Guinea. To do this, it encouraged the broadening of the scope of competence of the joint container control unit, by including water and forest personnel.
SEACOP’s West Africa deputy regional coordinator, Akala Akizi-Egnim, focused his intervention on the serious consequences of crime at sea and called for a coalition of means to confuse traffickers.
Zeus POUH-PEKA
