The Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy (ONDCP) in collaboration with the Organization of American States (OAS) and French Customs which provided trainers from the DNRED located in Martinique held a five (5) day training Seminar on Maritime Counterdrug Intelligence at the Jolly Beach Resort during the period 7th – 11th July 2014.

The seminar focused on various means of maritime narcotics trafficking and the techniques to gather and analyze intelligence and information to better focus investigation and interdiction activities.

Director of the ONDCP, Lt. Col. Edward Croft encouraged the participants from the ONDCP, Police, Immigration, Customs, Defense Force, Airport and Seaport Authorities to absorb as much as possible from the training and to seize the opportunity to use these new skills to enhance the intelligence product of each agency represented.

The aim of the training was to enhance the existing knowledge of intelligence collection and to familiarise the officers with the use of the open sources. The participants were exposed to various new techniques and were given an opportunity to actively participate in tracing criminal activity. The training was well received by the officers and the general consensus was that it will definitely hone their existing collection skills and therefore maximise the various agencies effectiveness for successful operations.

The Director further expressed his gratitude for the collaborative efforts of OAS and the Canadian Government in their commitment to strengthen the capabilities of the Antigua and Barbuda.

This seminar, funded by the Government of Canada, is the first activity within the framework of the Caribbean Regional Counterdrug Intelligence Training School initiative. CICAD with Canadian funding along with regional partners have been working to establish this regional entity.