The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has trained 15 customs and border security officers from five Central Asian countries in detecting illicit weapons, ammunition and explosives during a five-day course in Tashkent from October 5 to 9.
The training took place at the National Canine Centre of Uzbekistan’s Customs Committee and brought together officers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Source: OSCE
The program focused on strengthening the operational capabilities of canine units, including the detection of illicit firearms, conventional ammunition and explosive materials. Participants took part in practical exercises involving vehicle searches, crowd screening, scent detection, airflow analysis and contamination prevention.
The course also covered working dog welfare, stress recognition and health management, alongside efforts to standardize assessment methods and training procedures among regional canine units.
Source: OSCE
Participants exchanged technical expertise and worked to align standard operating procedures to improve inter-agency cooperation, cross-border information sharing and efforts to intercept illicit trafficking.
“We are convinced that the professional contacts established during this seminar should be further developed. It is important to continue exchanging experience, conduct joint training activities, improve training methods for service dogs and dog handlers, and develop cooperation between the relevant departments of the Central Asian states thus contributing to the security of Central Asia region,” said Farrukh Kakhkhorov, director of the National Canine Centre of Uzbekistan’s Customs Committee.
Source: OSCE
Antti Karttunen, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, said the training also helped extend expertise gained by Uzbek instructors in the United Kingdom to colleagues across Central Asia.
“At the OSCE, we support practical co-operation that helps border and customs services address shared security challenges. Through this training, we helped Uzbek instructors share knowledge gained in the United Kingdom with colleagues from all five Central Asian countries. In this way, the benefits of earlier training extend beyond one country to the wider region,” Karttunen said.
The course was organized under the OSCE’s extrabudgetary project, “Strengthening the resilience of Uzbekistan to address cross-border challenges emanating from Afghanistan.”
The project is funded by Germany, Sweden, the United States, Finland and France.