VCN – The Virtual Workshop of Operation Mekong Dragon III is taking place from October 26 to 28. The workshop is coordinated by the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Asia and the Pacific (RILO AP) with the participation of Customs administrations, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and international organizations.
 |
| Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Asia and the Pacific (RILO AP) coordinates the worshop. |
At the workshop, the represenative of Vietnam Customs hopes for further support and closer cooperation of Customs administrations and international organizations to effectively prevent and combat transnational wildlife and drug-related crimes.
The workshop aims to review the performance of the Operation Mekong Dragon III and discuss plans on preventing wildlife and drug-related crimes in Asia and the Pacific.
Delegates highly appreciated the Operation Mekong Dragon III initiative and expected support, mutual trust and long-term cooperation.
Representatives from customs administrations and international organizations also presented issues such as electronic evidence taking and digital forensics, anti-money laundering and finacial investigation, Lancang-Mekong Integrated Law enforcement and security cooperation, recent cases of controlled delivery.
Operation Mekong Dragon III was launched on January 26 after the success of Operation I and II with the participation of customs administrations, including: Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and RILO AP. The official operation is from April 15 to September 15, 2021.
Operation Mekong Dragon, co-initiated by Vietnam Customs and China Customs, was launched in September 2018 and received great technical support from the UNODC, RILO AP and six customs administrations in the Mekong sub-region. Operation Mekong Dragon I includes six customs administrations of the Mekong sub-region including: Vietnam, China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar. Operation Mekong Dragon II includes by nine customs administrations, including Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Hong Kong, India, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, and Singapore. |
By Huyen Trang/Ngoc Loan