Brasília 17 August 2021 - UNODC office in Brazil held a series of bilateral meetings with authorities in the Port of Santos to promote cooperation under the Container Control Programme (CCP) and Law Enforcement Assistance Programme to Reduce Tropical Deforestation (LEAP). Attending the meeting were chiefs and officials from Brazil Customs, Federal Police, Santos Port Authority and IBAMA, Brazil’s environmental enforcement agency.
The objective of the visit was to update the participating authorities regarding the state of play of the CCP and familiarize officers with the LEAP programme, which assists relevant authorities to build capacity to detect and seize illegal timber.
Brazil Customs has participated in the CCP since the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2017. Since then, the Port Control Unit supported by the CCP in the Port of Santos, South America’s largest maritime port, has seized illicit cargo ranging from intellectual property rights violations to drugs. In 2020, the Unit seized more than 19 tonnes of cocaine. In addition to technical discussions regarding the trafficking of illicit goods, especially illegal timber, UNODC set out the proposed schedule of future training events in the framework of the LEAP programme.
LEAP programme - The objective of the programme is to build technical capacity and networks to assist Member States to fight against illegal deforestation and related crimes. Now active in eight countries across Latin America and South East Asia, the three UNODC global programmes contributing to LEAP activities address customs issues, legislation, and money laundering, together with partners INTERPOL and RHIPTO-Norwegian Center for Global Analyses.
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