Intelligence
liaison customs officers of Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Regional
Intelligence Liaison Officer (RILO) of the World Customs Organisation have
recently concluded a 10-day regional forum at Senegambia Beach Hotel.
The
forum was hosted by GRA courtesy of the CRIHARM5 operations. During the period, the 23 members of the
WCO-WCA gathered with the aim to combat illicit trade in counterfeit
pharmaceuticals and other contraband products through the Operations
Coordination Unit (OCU) of the Regional Intelligence Liaison office West and
Central Africa.
Gambia
Revenue Authority officials said they are pleased to host the customs regional
forum.
The
operation is an annual event targeting trade illicit and or irregular
pharmaceutical products and has had tremendous success last year in The Gambia.
In
his closing remarks, commissioner general of GRA, Yankuba Darboe said the
annual CRIPHARM5 Operations have been gaining momentum since its inception and
the 5th Edition in Banjul has been the most successful so far.
He
added that annually, seizures of contraband across the bloc are increasing
impressively thanks to the admirable leadership of RILO West and Central
African directors and other teams.
“The
West and Central region continue to be challenged by organised cross-border
crimes especially on trade in poor quality foods, medicaments, cosmetic,
cigarettes, alcohol and product whose inferior quality are detrimental to human
consumption, while consumption of counterfeit products presents huge public
health risks to our population, business in these industries continue to thrive
and the cartels continue to profit on our vulnerable population.”
According
to him, customs play an indispensable role in the interception and disruption
of nefarious enterprises in the smuggling and illegitimate trade in counterfeit
or inferior quality of products for the populations.
He
said the CRIHARM5 Operations are part of the response by WCO-WCA to address the
problems of counterfeit products consumed by humans that pose long term risks
to human health, saying the CRIHARM5 operations is a platform for analysis,
information sharing and networking for the WCO-WCA region, and in realisation
of this goal, it has been making tremendous success.
Commissioner
General Darboe extended gratitude to the CRIPHARM5 team for their outstanding
performance in coordination massive amounts of seizures within the West and
Central African region.
