US-Romanian cooperation on combating smuggling

A team of employees from the Romanian Customs Authority underwent five days of training at the Port of Miami with US specialists in combating smuggling and the trafficking of dangerous goods. The course was organised by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), in cooperation with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the US Embassy in Bucharest said in a press release sent on Wednesday.According to the press release, the course combined classroom instruction with practical exercises, covering the techniques and methods used to identify, inspect and intercept illegal or prohibited items and goods across all operational environments.The CBP-led Contraband Enforcement Team (CET) training is designed to help establish and train selected officers to operate as a dedicated anti-smuggling team.At the end of the programme, employees of the Romanian Customs Authority from the Port of Constanta will return home as Romania's first trained Contraband Enforcement Team (CET). The team will be tasked with helping secure border crossing points through rigorous, targeted inspections of goods aimed at identifying and intercepting weapons of mass destruction, dual-use goods and other illicit goods, the US Embassy said.mAccording to the diplomatic mission, the training reflects the strong and ongoing partnership between the United States and Romania in strengthening border security and combating illicit trafficking.'The Port of Constanta serves as a critical transit point in the Black Sea region, making effective counter-smuggling efforts essential to regional and transatlantic security. By combining DTRA's expertise in countering proliferation with CBP's maritime operational experience, this unified, inter-agency approach is successfully helping to strengthen Romania's capabilities and maintain security in the Black Sea region,' the US Embassy in Bucharest further said.DTRA provides cross-sector solutions to enable the Department of War, the US Government and international partners to deter strategic attacks against the United States and its allies, prevent, reduce and counter weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and emerging threats, and defeat adversaries armed with WMD in crisis and conflict situations.