CARICOM IMPACS in collaboration with the US Government concluded a week long Joint Interdiction Training in the U.S. Virgin Islands, on Tuesday.

The training, targeted at regional border security officials, was made possible through funding under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative and was overseen by personnel from the US Customs and Border Protections (CBP).

During the training, participants were engaged in live exercises in the St. Thomas and St. Johns Bay ports which resulted in seizures of firearms found in checked bags, four seizures of packages of marijuana and a significant sum of money. The exercise was supervised by the Todd Bellew, USCBP Area Port Manager.

This Joint Interdiction Training is one of several training initiatives delivered to regional law enforcement and border security officials in 2015 and is intended to create opportunities to develop and strengthen partnerships, share best practices and collaborate on regional border security issues.

Ongoing border security training is relevant and necessary given region’s susceptibility to threats such as trafficking in arms and ammunition; drugs and humans.  Noteworthy also is that the Caribbean has not remained insulated from the current crisis in Syria and the resulting mass migration and therefore the need for training in enhanced detection methods is essential.

Participating Member States included Antigua, Barbados, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.