Cleared for Takeoff!

Published

In the first week of this month, the RTC was privileged to host young, enthusiastic law enforcement officials from Ghana for the AFRICOM-sponsored course titled “International Passenger Interdiction Training,” delivered by the United States Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP). The training spanned 5 days and was an activity-packed, adrenaline-laced week, led by the CBP instructor team: Jeff, David, Haliimaile, and Ki. There was never a dull moment with the instructors and participants.

There was a great exchange of ideas and experiences, thus adding to existing knowledge of all. Participants kept asking when the next CBP course will happen and I gladly leave the answer to the higher powers that decide on our courses! For the first time ever, our practical exercise took place on the tarmac of the Accra Kotoka International Airport. Arguably one of the coolest experiences lived by some of us, the team had the opportunity to inspect the main cabin and cargo hold of an aircraft that had just landed. We also monitored real time arrival of passengers at the airport, with the goal of learning more on selectivity and inspection actions and also to know more about the work of customs and immigration personnel. Although there was only one country present for this course, there was a lot of interagency collaboration since the agencies involved all work--in one way or the other—cooperate on a daily basis to ensure maximum security at our airsides.

Below are some pictures that were taken during the week. We’ll share some videos as well on our Facebook page. Stay tuned!

RTC Training

Participants practicing how to identify potentially fraudulent travel documents

RTC Training

Participants practicing how to identify potentially fraudulent travel documents

RTC Training

Participants receiving a briefing at the departure hall of the airport

RTC Training

Participants receiving a briefing at the departure hall of the airport

RTC Training

Participants approaching the aircraft for inspection

RTC Training

Participants inspecting the cargo hold

RTC Training

The Director of Customs interacting with participants

 

[Post by: Sarah Dadson. Sarah is the Participant & Alumni Coordinator for the West Africa Regional Training Center. Email her at info@westafricartc.org]