INTERPOL conducts southeast Asia counterterrorism exercises

The International Criminal Police Organization’s (INTERPOL) Chemical and Explosives Terrorism Prevention Unit, in coordination with INTERPOL National Central Bureaus (NCBs), carried out exercises across southeast Asia last week.

Operation Chase II involved passenger and motor vehicle screening exercises as part of regional efforts targeting the smuggling of chemical explosive precursors. Countries involved included Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

INTERPOL said that Operation Chase II came in response to a growing number of incidents in the past year involving improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The operations involved more than 350 law enforcement officers and representatives from local agencies, including customs, immigration, counterterrorism and public health.

“Operation Chase II was a welcome opportunity for all participating agencies to work together to interdict the smuggling of chemical explosive precursors,” Lim Sokharaksmey, head of the NCB in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, said. “Together with Project Chase’s training and workshops, this operation has helped the region further secure its borders from the chemical explosive threat.”

Operations saw more than 10,000 searches conducted against INTERPOL’s nominal and Stolen and Lost Travel Documents databases. Support was provided by national liaison officers who were deployed at INTERPOL’s Liaison Office in Bangkok to assist national coordination.

“Initiatives like these help bolster a multi-agency approach to the growing threat of chemical explosive precursor materials getting into the wrong hands,” Alan Grimmer, coordinator of INTERPOL’s Chemical and Explosive Terrorism Prevention Unit, said. “They are part and parcel of our sustainable efforts to combat transnational terrorism.”