Expanding the Mekong Dragon Campaign 6

Recently, the General Department of Customs announced that, in accordance with the directives of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance , it will continue to implement the "Mekong Dragon Campaign 6" with a focus on upgrading and expanding its scale in 2024.

Vietnamese customs authorities have detected, seized, and dealt with numerous smuggling cases.

Operation Mekong Dragon is a series of joint action campaigns between customs agencies and other law enforcement agencies in the Asia- Pacific region to combat the illicit trafficking of narcotics, wildlife, and wildlife products listed in CITES across all routes. It was jointly initiated and launched in 2018 by Vietnam Customs and China Customs with technical support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Asia-Pacific (RILO AP - WCO).

To date, the Campaign has completed five phases (from 2018 to 2023), achieving significant results. RILO AP and international law enforcement organizations have recognized the Campaign as one of the most successful control campaigns in the Asia- Pacific region in terms of the number of participating members and the number of cases updated to the Campaign's common information system. Through the Campaign's mechanism, a great deal of intelligence has been exchanged between countries, contributing to the successful seizure of numerous large-scale smuggling and trafficking cases involving drugs, wildlife, and plants.

Since 2022, the Mekong Dragon Campaign has been officially included in the Vietnam-China Joint Statement during General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's official visit to China. In 2023, the Campaign was further included in the joint statement between the two countries (Point (3), Section 4.3) with the content: "...continue to deepen cooperation on law enforcement against smuggling, promote coordinated action to enforce international law, and achieve more results in the 'Mekong Dragon' Campaign".

Following the success of the Mekong Dragon Campaign series, and under the direction of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Customs continues to implement the Mekong Dragon Campaign 6 in 2024 with the following focus: Elevating and expanding the scale of the campaign, strengthening information sharing activities, and cooperating in post-arrest investigations to detect transnational smuggling and illegal trafficking networks of drugs and wildlife.

To date, the Mekong Dragon Campaign 6 has received the participation of 25 customs agencies and law enforcement agencies and international organizations (including 20 customs agencies and 5 international organizations).

Previously, the General Department of Customs, in coordination with UNOD, successfully organized the Opening Conference for the Mekong Dragon Campaign 6 in Ho Chi Minh City, with the participation of 64 domestic and international delegates (including international delegates from customs agencies of 16 countries and 4 international law enforcement organizations; Vietnamese delegates included representatives from the Drug Crime Investigation Police Department C04 and the Environmental Crime Prevention and Control Police Department C05 of the Ministry of Public Security, delegates from the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department and several units under the General Department of Customs).

The conference marked the official launch of the Campaign in the Asia-Pacific region. The conference agenda included announcing the implementation of activities within the framework of Operation Mekong Dragon 6, exchanging and sharing experiences among countries in enforcing measures against the illegal trade and trafficking of wildlife (CITES) and narcotics, and training in skills for collecting, managing, exchanging, analyzing information, and conducting investigations to support the deployment of the Key Task Force within the scope of the Campaign.

Simultaneously, the General Department of Customs, in coordination with C04 and C05, is organizing and implementing the Mekong Dragon Campaign 6 across the entire customs sector. Activities within the framework of the Campaign, as planned by the General Department of Customs, include organizing workshops and specialized training courses for the entire sector, participating in and coordinating group meetings, joint investigations, and key team activities aimed at analyzing, collecting information, and conducting investigations…

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/mo-rong-quy-mo-chien-dich-con-rong-me-kong-6-152579.html