News and Events

Fostering Inter-Regional Cooperation: Workshop on Strategic Trade Control in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1540 for Libya, Morocco and Tunisia in Istanbul, Türkiye

UNODC and Türkiye Strengthen Cooperation in Border Security and Combating Transnational Organized Crime

Passenger and Cargo Border Team Promotes Disability Inclusion

UNODC and WCO release the Airport Communication Programme and Container Control Programme Annual Report 2023

The Second Regional Meeting of the PCBT Women’s Network for LAC Promotes Female Leadership in Law Enforcement

Older stories

25 January 2024

Opening of the First Port Control Unit in Mauritius

On International Customs Day, the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Customs Organization (WCO) opened the first Port Control Unit (PCU) in the Indian Ocean Islands in Mauritius.This inauguration was facilitated by the UNODC Passenger and Cargo Border Team... more

7-8 December 2023

Advancing Border Security: Regional Meeting on National Targeting Centers and Effective Border Security in Istanbul, Türkiye

The National Targeting Centers (NTCs) positioned at the forefront of effective border management, employ advanced technologies and intelligence analysis to identify and prioritize potential threats related to the movement of passengers and cargo. Through comprehensive risk assessments, they enable border control agencies…more

23-27 October 2023

FishNET Training on Fisheries Crime Level II

Every year, thousands of foreign fishing vessels populate African waters with the aim to drain the continent of its rich and diverse species of fish and marine life. A large portion of these vessels is believed to be fishing illegally; this means that vessels may be active in protected waters, catching protected or endangered marine species, extracting fish with environmentally degrading equipment, or fishing without a license altogether. more

10 September 2023

Increasing the security of the trade supply chain at Baghdad International Airport

Iraq took a significant stride in bolstering trade supply chain security – concurrently targeting high-risk air cargo while facilitating the smooth flow of legitimate trade. In pursuit of this crucial objective, Iraqi authorities have joined).…more

10 March 2023

Strengthening the Security of the Trade Supply Chain in Lebanon with High-level Political Support

Over the past few years, Lebanon has been experiencing one of the most challenging economic crises in its history. A secure trade supply chain to bring goods into the country and export to key markets in the Gulf countries is a key precondition for economic growth, job creation and political stability… more

19 January 2023

UNODC-WCO CCP pilots innovative interregional training on wildlife crime

In 2021, a multi-agency task force led by officers of Sri Lanka Customs executed a search on a warehouse in Colombo. They seized 300kg of shark fins and 250kg of dried manta and mobula ray gills, packed and ready to be shipped to Hong Kong. This night-time raid was the culmination of many months of hard work. The investigation… more

20 December 2022

UNODC-WCO CCP breaks records in the fight against drug trafficking

As of December this year, the Port Control Units (PCU) and Air Cargo Control Units (ACCU) established under the framework of the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme (CCP) have seized over 260 tonnes of cocaine – breaking last year’s record by over 90 tonnes... more

1 November 2022

Equality, Leadership, Communication: UNODC conducts a gender workshop in South and Southeast Asia

November opened with a gender equality and women’s leadership workshop in Bangkok for customs and law enforcement officers of the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Jointly implemented by the Container Control Programme (CCP) and the Global Maritime Crime Programme (GMCP) under the Blue Enforcement Project… more

29 September 2022

Closing Gaps, Increasing Opportunities: A Conversation between CCP Women Trainers

Since its launch in 2015, the CCP Women's Network has made considerable gains in fulfilling global commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment. Owed primarily to initiatives such as the Women's Network and gender sensitization training components, the representation of women...more

14 September 2022

Shifting gears, changing mindsets: Promoting gender equality in the MENA region through a novel approach

One hundred and fifteen years. That’s how long it would take for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to reach gender parity, according to the World Economic Forum. Though some recent statistics demonstrate that major advances have been achieved, much remains to be done to accelerate this progress...more

27 July 2022

Empowering women leaders in border control in Eastern and Southern Africa

In the post-pandemic world, border control agencies everywhere are facing enormous challenges. Not only must they facilitate an unprecedented amount of large, legal movements of goods and people, but they must also remain vigilant against criminals seeking to exploit these processes...more

12 July 2022

Official opening of the CCP Air Cargo Control Unit at Beirut Airport, Lebanon

The CCP is excited to announce that, on 20 June 2022, the first Air Cargo Control Unit (ACCU) was opened in Beirut at Rafic Hariri International Airport. Launched by the Lebanese Minister of Finance, His Excellency Mr. Youssef al Khalil, in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)...more

25 May 2022

Commited to advancing gender equality: The CCP Women's Network wins the 2022 UNOV/UNODC Gender Award

On 25 April 2022, the first awards ceremony of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV)/United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Gender Awards took place in Vienna. The recently launched award recognizes the outstanding efforts of United Nations (UN) programmes in implementing....more

5 March 2022

The Container Control Programme discusses priorities and sets up the Inter-Regional Group on Urgent Queries

In March 2022, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Office for Central Asia held an Inter-Regional Expert-Level Meeting. This activity was conducted under the Inter-Regional Network of Customs Authorities and Port Control Units (IREN) of the UNODC- World Customs Organization...more

18 February 2022

The Container Control Programme delivers Alumni Workshop for graduates of the Women's Professional Development Programme

In August 2021, the Women’s Network of the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme (CCP) celebrated the graduation of 58 women CCP officers from the first-ever CCP Women’s Professional Development Programme (WPDP). This four-week training course, implemented in partnership...more

3 December 2021

The CCP Women's Network in MENA organizes all-women study visit to the Dominican Republic

The underrepresentation of women in the customs and law enforcement sectors is a global concern in industrialized and developing countries alike. In varying degrees and differing regionally, the share of women working in these fields continues to be proportionally limited and undervalued...more

9 November 2021

International law enforcement cooperation to target crimes in the fisheries sector

International cooperation is a key element in the fight against transnational organized crime and the cross-border movement of illicit goods and it is, therefore, an integral part of the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme’s methodology. From the establishment of Port Control and Air...more

10 October 2021

Angola becomes first country to launch Port Control Unit in Southern Africa

On 14 September 2021, Angola formally launched the first Port Control Unit (PCU) in Southern Africa, in its main port of Luanda. Established under the framework of the Container Control Programme (CCP), the PCU is dedicated to countering illicit trafficking through the Port of Luanda...more

10 October 2021

Namibia signs MoU with UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme and officially opens first Port Control Unit

On 24 September 2021, Namibia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Container Control Programme (CCP). The MoU was signed by the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA), the Namibian Police Force (NAMPOL), the Namibian Ports Authority (Namport), the...more

13 September 2021

Container Control Programme launches pioneering Women’s Professional Development Programme

August 5th 2021 marked a new milestone for the CCP Women’s Network: the launch of a professional development training course, conducted in partnership with the Australian Border Force (ABF) and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University. Addressing the training participants...more

5 August 2021

UNODC and WCO target plastic and hazardous waste

On June 15^th, the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme (CCP), in collaboration with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), launched a new project to counter illegal shipments of plastic and hazardous waste in the cargo trade supply chain Building on findings from technical assessments undertaken jointly with authorities in Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand ...more

24 May 2021

CCP delivers information and intelligence training in East Africa

Information and intelligence are often referred to as the “lifeblood” of law enforcement. They are crucial to ensure successful investigations and, ultimately, to contribute to safety and security. As such, the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme (CCP) continued with its series of information and intelligence training for frontline officers in East Africa. ...more

19 November 2020

UNODC Celebrates Fifth Anniversary of CCP Women’s Network

There is global consensus that advancing women’s rights and gender equality benefits society as a whole. Greater participation by women is essential to achieving stronger democracies, more prosperous economies, and fairer societies. Women’s contributions to global governance, in particular, have... more

17 November 2020

The UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme Takes Stock of Achievements

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose various challenges for the private and public sectors across the globe. The ensuing crisis was felt by many global programmes; and the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme (CCP), with its 59 participating countries, was no exception. Social…more