The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has trained selected commanders and officers of the agency in Advance Passenger Information System (API) and Passenger Targeting/Intelligence Gathering.
Mr Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesman, said in a statement on Friday in Abuja that the training was part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the agency’s operational efficiency at the country’s major airports.
Babafemi said that the Commander of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos Strategic Command of NDLEA, Assistant Commander General of Narcotics (ACGN) Mr Usman Wadar participated in the training.
He said that his counterpart at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, (NAIA), Abuja, Commander of Narcotics (CN) Mr Mohammed Ajiya also participated in the six-day training in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
He added that 13 other officers drawn from the MMIA and NAIA Commands took part in a five-day training that held in Abuja.
He quoted the NDLEA Chairman, retired, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa as commending the facilitators: Ms. Fabienne Russel of UNODC and Anderson Leme Siqueira of Brazilian Customs Administration for taking their time to be in Abuja for the training after the engagement in Abidjan.
Marwa equally praised the two NDLEA Commanders and other officers who participated in the Abidjan and Abuja training sessions for their interest and commitment.
“According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, (UNODC), which facilitated the trainings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and Abuja, the workshops were designed to enhance the capacity of the agency’s Commands at Airports.
“This is to target and intercept high-risk passengers, cargo and mail, to help combat illicit drug trafficking.
“They will also help to facilitate communication and coordination between countries of origin, transit and destination in order to destabilise illicit cross-border flows and criminal networks.
“They are all expected to impact the knowledge and skills acquired during the sessions on their other colleagues,” the statement read in part.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the trainings were funded by the European Union, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States under the AIRCOP Airport Communication Project, implemented by the UNODC.
