Airport Security: Tracking Delinquents

An Anti-Traffic Unit with hyper-communication tools to track down drugs and criminals was officially inaugurated yesterday at the Yaounde International Airport.

Functional since 2013, the Anti-Traffic Unit at the Yaounde Nsimalen International Airport which is within the European Union (EU) project dubbed “Airport Communication Project” (AIRCOP) was officially launched yesterday, October 6, 2016 by the Delegate General for National Security, Martin Mbarga-Nguele, in the presence of the Secretary of State in charge of the National Gendarmerie, Jean Baptiste Bokam, Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European
Union in Cameroon, Françoise Collet and  the Japanese Ambassador to Cameroon, Kunio Okamura.  

Martin Mbarga-Nguele lauded the financial and technical support from EU and Japan in setting up such a unit with expertise from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) and World Customs Organisation (WCO) amongst others. The aim of the unit is to disrupt the illegal networks that are disseminating drugs and other illicit products through smarter, more effective, well-connected and intelligence led counter-narcotic activities of participating airports. The unit which is located at the two main airports in Cameroon is out to strengthen detection, interdiction and intelligence capacities in several countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

The unit has two main security systems of communication: Information (I) 24/7 System from INTERPOL and the Customs Enforcement Network (CEN) from WCO. These systems are connected to other units within the Airport Communication Project and this permits experts t...