The World Customs Organization (WCO) has challenged customs administrations across West and Central Africa to move beyond reporting seizures and demonstrate measurable enforcement results through intelligence sharing, stronger cross-border cooperation and coordinated operations against transnational criminal networks.
The challenge was delivered during the 17th Annual Joint Meeting of National Contact Points (NCPs) of the WCO’s Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs) for West and Central Africa, which opened November 2 at the Farmington Hotel in Margibi County, Liberia, bringing together more than 40 customs intelligence professionals from 24 African countries.
Hosted for the first time in Liberia by the Government through the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), the November 2–6 meeting is focused on strengthening regional intelligence cooperation and improving customs administrations’ capacity to identify, investigate and disrupt criminal activities across national borders.
Addressing delegates, RILO West Africa Director General Amandu Tejan Sesay said the effectiveness of the regional intelligence network should not be measured by the volume of reports exchanged or seizures recorded, but by the tangible enforcement results generated from shared intelligence.
He warned that criminal networks continue to exploit porous borders, change trafficking routes and take advantage of weak coordination among enforcement institutions, making timely intelligence exchange critical to combating organized cross-border crime.
Sesay challenged National Contact Points to move beyond their traditional administrative responsibilities of forwarding correspondence and seizure reports, urging them to become active operational links within their national customs administrations and the regional intelligence network.
He emphasized that intelligence gathered in one country could provide vital leads for another administration to identify suspicious consignments, uncover trafficking routes, understand concealment methods and trace criminal networks.
He also called for stronger institutional support for National Contact Points, including clear mandates, adequate resources and the authority to respond promptly to intelligence requests and information from regional counterparts.
The RILO chief urged participants to produce practical, measurable recommendations that would be implemented and monitored after the meeting rather than ending the conference with general commitments.
The call was reinforced in a statement delivered on behalf of the Vice-Chair of the WCO West and Central Africa Region by Ibrahim Njoya, who stressed that regional cooperation must be judged by its ability to strengthen enforcement and disrupt criminal activities.
The statement recalled recommendations from the previous meeting in Bamako, Mali, encouraging customs administrations to adopt modern intelligence and investigative tools, including geospatial intelligence (GEOINT), open-source intelligence (OSINT), artificial intelligence and tracking and tracing technologies.
It also highlighted the need to strengthen institutional arrangements to ensure that National Contact Points have the authority and resources to perform their responsibilities effectively.
Citing the CRIFAX 11 regional operation, the WCO representative noted that only 17 of the region’s 24 customs administrations participated, calling for stronger commitment and broader involvement in joint enforcement initiatives.
The meeting’s agenda includes reviewing previous recommendations, improving intelligence sharing and strengthening the use of the WCO Customs Enforcement Network (CEN) and its secure communication platform, CENcomm.
These platforms are expected to improve the collection, analysis and secure exchange of enforcement information, enabling customs authorities to respond more effectively to emerging threats.
Participants are also expected to develop specific recommendations with clear responsibilities, measurable outcomes and monitoring arrangements while ensuring that intelligence sharing respects confidentiality, security and privacy requirements.
The meeting has attracted delegates from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
Liberia’s hosting of the meeting provides an opportunity for the country to strengthen its participation in regional customs intelligence cooperation and contribute to collective efforts against illicit trade and transnational crime.
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