The State Border Service of the Kyrgyz Republic in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and with the financial support of the Government of Japan.conducted joint simulation exercises at the border crossing-point "Dostuk" on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border to intercept drugs and precursor chemicals in May.
Real-life scenario at the border area aimed at improving coordination between the border guards, including BLO and other law enforcement representatives. In line with the scenario, Border Liaison Officer of border check-point "Bor-Dobo" (Kyrgyz- Tajik border) informed their BLO colleagues at "Dostuk" check-point on high risk of narcotics which might be trafficked from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan approximately in mid-May 2017. In their turn, officers at "Dostuk" check-point shared respective information with their colleagues and suggested to strengthen the control.
Aibek Kutmanov, Chief of the Main Operational Department of the State Border Service of the Kyrgyz Republic, said: "Joint work of law enforcement agencies involved in border control is one more step towards better coordination." He also expressed a hope that the UNODC's efforts will enable beneficiary countries to promote greater inter-agency and cross border cooperation, especially on operational level.
Border Liaison Offices (BLOs) is considered to be one of the most sustainable system that can help developing mutual trust and intelligence information sharing system among law enforcement agencies responsible for border protection. Yusuf Kurbonov, UNODC Programme Coordinator, emphasized that communication, coordination and cooperation among law enforcement agencies are the key elements aimed at effectively combating illicit drug trafficking.
Representatives of the Ministry of Interior, Border and Customs Services of the Kyrgyz Republic took part at the exercise. The UNODC representatives, Kyrgyz Border Guard Service under the National Security Committee and Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan attended the event as observers.
The event was organized in the frame of the sub-programme 1 component «Countering the trafficking of Afghan opiates via the northern route by enhancing the capacity of key border crossings points (BCPs) and through the establishment of Border Liaison Offices (BLOs)» of the UNODC Programme for Central Asia 2015 -2019.
