Inthe framework of the meeting the heads of canine units of the customs authorities of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States met.
The event, chaired by Alexey Cherkavskiy, head of the Central Customs (Cynological Center of the Federal Customs Service of Russia), was attended by Pavel Terentyev, acting deputy head of the North-West Customs Administration – head of the North-West Operational Customs, and heads of canine units of the customs authorities of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Tajikistan. The Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan were present online
Alexey Cherkavsky welcomed his colleagues and emphasized that the purpose of the meeting was to exchange experience and effective methods of work, strengthening international cooperation. He thanked the leadership of the NWTU for a warm welcome and organization of the meeting, which became an important step in the development of canine units.
– The complicated geopolitical situation in the world and tragic events in our country, which took place a few days ago, emphasize the importance, timeliness and acute need for our work to prevent and suppress crimes, including terrorist crimes. Service dogs remain one of the important tools of customs control of our service, – said Pavel Terentyev, addressing the participants
The meeting considered issues related to the training of service dogs, discussed upcoming activities in the field of training and professional development of law enforcement officers, the rules of multi-sport competitions for the championship of canine structures, analyzed the results of the Working Group of the CIS SRTS CGPP in 2023 and set tasks for 2024
In 2023, the canine units of the customs services of the CIS member states stopped more than 1.5 thousand attempts of illegal movement of narcotic drugs, more than 2.8 thousand facts of smuggling of tobacco products and almost 1.4 thousand cases of violation of the movement of currency across the border. There has been an annual increase in the number of results of detection of tobacco and tobacco products and paper money
The practical part of the event was a demonstration to colleagues of the work of service dogs during customs control on a sea vessel, which was organized by the canine service of the NWOT. A canine specialist from Baltic Customs and his Russian hunting spaniel showed their skills in searching for cocaine imitators
To apprehend the offenders, a task force was involved. SOBR officers practiced their professional skills with high-altitude assault equipment in order to penetrate the object. They showed techniques of using physical force and special means. A situation was simulated in which the offender did not obey the lawful demands of the officers, resisted, was detained and taken to the customs authorities for further investigative actions
At the end, the participants signed the Protocol of the Working Group meeting with the decisions aimed at strengthening cooperation between the canine services of the customs authorities of the CIS countries
Public Relations Department of the NWTU