Jamaica gets U.N. help against drug smugglers

Last Updated on Thursday, 11 December 2014, 22:49 by GxMedia

San Juan, Dec 11 (EFE).- The government of Jamaica announced on Thursday the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations to implement the Airport Communication Project, or AIRCOP, at the country’s two main airports to curb drug smuggling.

The project is an initiative of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, known as UNODC, the World Customs Organization and INTERPOL, and its goal is to disrupt illegal networks disseminating drugs and other illicit products, the government said in a statement.

“This initiative will provide us with some of the support needed to mount an even stronger response. It will be facilitated by the establishment of two joint interdiction task forces, one at the Norman Manley International Airport and the second at Sangster International Airport,” Jamaica’s transport minister, Omar Davis, said at the signing ceremony.

UNODC’s law enforcement expert for Central America and the Caribbean, Bob Van den Berghe, said AIRCOP will provide real-time communication between international sources, transit and destination airports in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

The AIRCOP project is funded by the European Union and currently covers 25 countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.