06/11/2023
The fifth phase of the European port cooperation project, SEACOP, which has been tasked with strengthening law enforcement's work on maritime threats and prohibitions arising from illicit trafficking routes, comes to an end
During phase V of the European SEACOP project, a network of trust has been created between the different teams set up in Latin America, the Caribbean and West Africa, which has facilitated the exchange of information and therefore international cooperation between the different security forces.
To fight organised crime and specifically illicit maritime trafficking, international cooperation is an obligation that must be shared among all actors involved in combating this activity. With this clear objective in mind, for more than two years, the European SEACOP project has carried out a multitude of training sessions on intelligence and drug searches on vessels in a total of 30 countries
Exchanging maritime information, sharing the threat in each of the countries and regions, updating and raising awareness of new modalities, criminal organisations and modus operandi, among other activities, is the result that SEACOP has achieved during this fifth phase.
Thanks to this training and education, excellent operational results have been achieved in terms of seizures, captures and joint investigations between countries. The latter being fundamental in the fight against organised crime.
In addition, all countries under the SEACOP umbrella have been able to improve their information exchange and have increased their cooperation with our main European partners such as MAOC-N and FRONTEX.
Likewise, the common strategy carried out in the three regions during this phase V has allowed for an excellent relationship between the countries of the different regions, creating a relationship of trust that is a necessary link for the security forces and their work against organised crime.
The new phase VI begins with three important challenges: increasing the number of beneficiary countries in Latin America, presumably with the incorporation of Suriname and Costa Rica; maintaining the relationship of trust created between the different countries; and supporting the fight against environmental crime, as well as maintaining the fight against the threat of drug trafficking and other illicit substances.
