JAKARTA: The Australian Border Force has gifted five detector dogs to its Indonesian counterpart as part of a broader strategic programme of co-operation to better protect each country’s borders.
Australian Border Force Commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg is visiting Indonesia for meetings with partner agencies and formally presented the dogs to the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DGCE) at a ceremony in Jakarta today.
The Commissioner also met with the newly appointed Director General of DGCE, Mr Heru Pambudi.
“The DGCE is a key strategic partner for the ABF in the fight against trans-national crime, including drug trafficking, the movement of illicit tobacco and other controlled goods,” Commissioner Quaedvlieg said.
The agreement to gift DGCE five ABF detector dogs was made at Customs-to-Customs bilateral talks in Indonesia in 2014. The dogs will provide a valuable boost to the DGCE’s plans to expand the capability and reach of its K9 unit across the country.
Commissioner Quaedvlieg said ongoing co-operation with DGCE on a range of additional customs, trade and law enforcement issues would be the subject of the next Customs-to-Customs talks in Fremantle in November, to be attended by senior officers from both agencies.
“The ABF already maintains a permanent post in Jakarta to further co-operation with DGCE and other key partner agencies in Indonesia – and that relationship continues to pay dividends,” Commissioner Quaedvlieg said.
Information sharing led to an operation in Melbourne in late July targeting an alleged international tobacco smuggling syndicate. The ABF and partner agencies arrested two men and seized cash, a large volume of tobacco products, firearms and ammunition.
This result shows the value of these relationships and I am very pleased to see the outcome of our two agencies working so closely together.”
The ABF is also working with DGCE to target risks posed by smallcraft movements between Indonesia and Australia. An information sharing arrangement is currently underway and the ABF has also delivered training in vessel search techniques and smallcraft movement risk assessment to their Indonesian counterparts.
