Testimonials
Published June 15, 2018
The West Africa Regional Training Center (RTC) definitely has great alumni and instructors. During the recent Advanced Narcotics Investigations Course, we were privileged to welcome back to the RTC, alumni who had previously attended trainings. They had amazing testimonials on how beneficial the RTC training has been, to the success of their careers. We would like to share some of the great feedback we received. Enjoy reading!
Alumnus from Ghana
My first experience at the RTC was in 2016. I attended a similar training on Narcotics Investigations. I still remember the modules on informant handling, survival tactics, controlled delivery, investigative techniques and evidence gathering. Based on the skills that I acquired, my team and I were successful in making many arrests and seizures at the airport. In one of the cases, the suspects were drug couriers from Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda who were bringing illicit drugs into Ghana. I’m happy to confirm that many of such suspects have been arrested, tried and convicted.
Alumnus from Liberia
When I came to the RTC in 2012 during the mobile trainings, I was a chief inspector. Following the end of the training, my performance improved and I was promoted to the rank of a superintendent in 2013. I continued to perform excellently and received another promotion in 2016 at the deputy chief of general crime sections office, assuming the rank of a chief superintendent – a position I am currently occupying. My first training was the Advanced Transnational Organized Crime (TOCI). After the course, I was able to share with my institution and colleagues the indicators of human trafficking, money laundering and tools needed to conduct an undercover operation. In 2013, my team and I arrested a Nigerian who owned a palm oil company, for his involvement in human trafficking. He was charged and sent to court. Finally, prior to my arrival in Ghana for this current course, I made an interdiction using intelligence gathering techniques I had acquired at the RTC. My team and I arrested 7 suspects with 22 bags of compressed marijuana with a street value of 2.6 million Liberian dollars.
Alumnus from Liberia
I attended a similar training at ILEA Gaborone in February 2018. The training modules included topics such as investigative techniques, Intelligence gathering, Informant handling and operational planning. I have applied the knowledge received from the training in my unit (Anti-Narcotics Unit of the Liberia National Police Service) several times and this has resulted in a lot of successes. On June 01, 2018, my team and I seized 827 kilos of compressed marijuana from Sierra Leone. Applying the rapport building information sharing techniques acquired from the ILEA, we were successful at identifying the drug source and route. Several suspects were arrested and three have been processed for court.
Alumnus from Ghana
Officer safety and precaution has been my top priority. A tactical training program I attended on Narcotics Investigations in July 2016 has helped me a lot in my field of work. The benefits associated with the training included capacity building for officers by giving them the courage to confront challenges encountered while executing their work. This current course definitely served as a refresher and a build up to my training experiences. In January 2018, a 44-year-old Tanzanian woman was arrested at the Kotoka International airport with 2.5kg of cocaine and heroin. She was traveling from Tanzania to Ghana. The case has been tried in court and she has been sentenced to 5 years in prison.
Wow, isn’t that great? We are thrilled to know that our participants are progressing in their careers and also applying the knowledge received at the RTC in their field of operations. We remain hopeful that our world is being made a better place, thanks to hardworking and passionate law enforcement personnel like our alumni. If you would like to be featured in our monthly newsletter, please feel free to write back to us at info@westafricartc.org.