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Rwanda National Police

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Interpol course to fight counterfeit goods ends in Kigali

Police officers from seven Eastern and Southern African countries, on March 27, completed a tactical course in Kigali to lay stringent measures against counterfeit and smuggled products.
 
Forty-four officers from Botswana, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia Zambia and Rwanda, took part in the three-day exercise.
 
The Interpol exercise dubbed “Operation Wipeout” to be conducted in the seven countries will target fuel, beverages, cigarettes, foodstuff and home-care products.
Other products include pesticides, mobile phones, their accessories, electrical products and electronics.
 
Commissioner of Police (CP), Emmanuel Butera, the Commissioner for Operations, while closing the training thanked Interpol for the initiative to fight illicit and smuggled products in the region, which pose threat to the economy and consumers’ health.
 
He observed organised criminal networks use profits from trafficking and selling illicit goods to fund criminal activities such as drug and human trafficking and terrorism.
 
“Joint efforts are crucial to fighting these illegal and life-threatening businesses,” CP Butera said.
 
He however appealed to the officers to utilize the acquired skills to make “Operation Wipe-out” a success.
 
Magdalena Utouh, head of Counterfeit Surveillance Commission in Tanzania also praised the international police body – Interpol – to provide a platform for law enforcement agencies to share experience and lay strategies against illicit and smuggled goods within the region.