From 12-14 April of this year, the Border Management Programme in Central Asia held the training of trainers on car and truck search in Tashkent. This activity targeted representatives of the customs and border guard agencies responsible for organising the training process and development of the methodology for inspecting vehicles in Uzbekistan.

The training strengthened skills and competencies for effective inspection of cars and trucks crossing border posts in order to identify illegally transported goods, weapons, drugs and other high-risk items. This is the second training for trainers of its kind conducted by the BOMCA Programme in the region of Central Asia, following similar activity in Tajikistan.

The training was conducted by experts from the State Revenue Service of Latvia and the Customs Department under the Ministry of Finance of Lithuania, who paid special attention to the methodology of effective controls and detection of smuggled goods. The participants were trained on practical methods, which incorporated good practices of monitoring and identifying hiding places for smuggled goods and substances in vehicles. The participants got acquainted with the latest technical solutions for effective vehicle search. In addition, the target group was equipped with the practical skills to organise further trainings on the topic and thus transfer knowledge within their agencies.