A delegation from the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) presented at the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 5th Pakistan-Afghanistan Integrated Border Management Workshop held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from 16th to 20th March 2015.

CMF presented at the recent UNODC 5th Pakistan-Afghanistan Integrated Border Management Workshop in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
CMF presented at the recent UNODC 5th Pakistan-Afghanistan Integrated Border Management Workshop in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The event aimed to promote inter-agency cooperation amongst Pakistani Law Enforcement Agencies, as well as improve regional cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the border areas, with a significant focus on the Management of Narcotics Trafficking.

Captain Nicholas Stoker, Royal Australian Navy, Deputy Commander of CMF’s counter-terrorism task force, Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150) supported by Lieutenant-Commander Sakhr Alomran, Royal Saudi Naval Forces of CTF-152, briefed the workshop participants on the topic:

‘CMF’s role in maritime security and the global/regional maritime challenges in the drug trafficking, Human Trafficking Migrant Smuggling and related organized crime’.

Organized by the UNODC Country Office Pakistan in collaboration with the Government of Pakistan, the workshop was an initiative under UNODC’s illicit trafficking and border management program to improve operating capacities of various Pakistani Law Enforcement Agencies in areas of border management, information gathering and analysis, drugs law enforcement and investigation, and prosecution of drugs and precursors related cases.

CMF’s speaking engagement was built on the relationship CMF and UNODC has generated over the past 12 months, including a number of CMF engagements in Vienna and Islamabad, participation at workshops and more frequent occurrence reporting. Captain Stoker remarked

“The seminar presented an excellent opportunity for CMF to share its experience in countering narcotics smuggling as part of its counter-terrorism mission in the Middle East Region.” He continued, “The workshop also contributed to increase international collaboration and interagency cooperation to enhance opportunities to prevent narcotics from even making it to the high seas and CMF’s area of operation.”

He went on to say: “UNODC estimates that around 40% of opiates produced in Afghanistan are trafficked through Pakistan. By UNODC continuing to play a role in educating and sharing their experiences in narcotics smuggling across borders, CMF can further disrupt terrorist activities and funding sources on the high seas.”