Customs Skills Enhanced by UK Border Force Deployment

#TurksandCaicos, March 18, 2022 – Customs officers newly assigned to the Providenciales (PLS) International Airport began a Customs Controls training programme on Monday, February 28th, 2022.

The training, which is being facilitated by the Ministry of Immigration and Border Services (MIBS), in collaboration with the United Kingdom (UK) Home Office, is geared towards enhancing the protection of the borders of the Turks and Caicos Islands and covers all areas of our Customs operation. The training will run for an entire month and will include risk and threat detection, intelligence, forgery awareness, and search procedures to enable officers to better spot, arrest and prosecute persons involved in illicit cross-border activities.

On Friday the 11th of March, Minister Musgrove, along with Permanent Secretary for the MIBS, Ms. Althea Been, visited the PLS International Airport to support the team and to observe the live operations conducted by the UK Border Force and Customs Team.

Speaking on the delivery of the course, Hon Arlington Musgrove; Minister of Immigration and Border Services, stated that “Customs officers assigned to the PLS International are a vital part of Turks and Caicos Island’s law enforcement front line. They are tasked with the responsibility of enforcing the Customs Ordinance and Regulations at one of the Turks and Caicos Islands’ major entry points.

I am confident that upon completion of the course, delegates will be better able to detect and prevent dangerous people and prohibited items such as drugs, weapons, ammunition and contraband from entering the Turks and Caicos Islands through our ports while facilitating legitimate travel. This is critical and timely, in light of my Government’s plan to establish a Border Force and for the management of security and community risks associated with cross-border travel.”

The training is already proving fruitful, with newly-trained officers detecting a range of prohibited items in recent days.