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SEACOP V - Seaport Cooperation Project
Contribute to the fight against maritime illicit trade and associated criminal networks in Latin America, the Caribbean and West Africa.

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Objective

SEACOP V aims to contribute to the fight against maritime illicit trade and associated criminal networks in Latin America, the Caribbean and West Africa, in accordance with human rights.
  • €5m
    BUDGET
  • 04/05/2021
    PROJECT START
  • 30 months
    DURATION

Disrupting illicit flows

The trafficking of illicit goods -including drugs- is an international phenomenon which has a devastating impact on social and economic development as well as on public health.

Orchestrated by transnational criminal groups operating across different continents and also often involved in other criminal activities (e.g.: kidnapping, money laundering, etc.), illicit goods trafficking has become a primary source of terrorist funding, further destabilising world stability. This phenomenon is difficult to stop due to its changing nature.

One of the most important illicit flow routes through the Atlantic Ocean starts from Latin America to Europe, by way of the Caribbean and West Africa. As criminal networks constantly adapt their methods, resources and transport routes, it is important to target all affected regions at the same time and to anticipate displacement effects of targeted areas, taking into account the complex criminal environments and the criminal convergence points in all regions of the world.

The EU Global Illicit Flows Programme

From source to destination, countries located along illicit trafficking routes often suffer harmful consequences that affect daily life. Fostering violence and corruption and undermining good governance, illicit trafficking jeopardises national security and economic prosperity, leads to public health problems and causes significant environmental damage.

That is why, in November 2019, the European Commission’s Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development launched the Global Illicit Flows Programme of the European Union (GIFP), an umbrella programme which supports the fight against organised crime on trans-regional illicit routes, be it in relation to narcotics and the movement of pre-cursor chemicals, illicit arms trafficking, wildlife crime, or illicit financial flows.

 

 

Within the framework of this programme, SEACOP V works with authorities in Latin America, the Caribbean and West Africa, in close cooperation with EU agencies fighting transnational crime and ensuring border security.

 

The implementation of SEACOP V is supported by the expertise of CIVIPOL (France), Policia Judiciaria (Portugal), United Kingdom Border Force - UKBF (UK), direction générale des douanes et droits indirects -DGDDI (France), Directorate for Security and Defense Cooperation - DCSD (France), Maritime Analysis and Operation Centre - Narcotics - MAOC-(N), National Crime Agency - NCA (UK) and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency – FRONTEX

Objectives of SEACOP V project

The overall objective of SEACOP V is to support the fight against illicit maritime trafficking and associated criminal networks consistent with human rights in the targeted countries and regions in order to alleviate its negative impact on security, public health and socio-economic development.

 

More specifically, SEACOP V aims to:

Reinforce the effectiveness of the SEACOP maritime intelligence and maritime/riverine control network, both geographically and technically;

Integrate, in a sustainable manner, knowledge and know-how on maritime threats and interdictions emanating from the transatlantic illicit trafficking routes into national and regional   curricula;

Improve cooperation and information sharing at national, regional and transregional level, including with EUROPOL and FRONTEX.

Continuity with previous actions

SEACOP V is the fifth phase of the Seaport Cooperation Project, launched in 2010. All funded by the European Union, SEACOP I, II, III & IV were implemented by a consortium led by FIIAPP. As such, SEACOP V seeks to integrate, consolidate, and expand, the results achieved in the first four phases of the project.


While the previous SEACOP phases focused mostly on drug trafficking -specifically cocaine- this fifth phase aims to address transnational organised crime and related illicit trade more comprehensively. In line with the EU’s Strategy on Drugs 2021-2025, the project will prioritise international cooperation among authorities responsible for border security and combatting organised crime, with a focus on profiling and intelligence-sharing.

SEACOP V will also explore new partnerships (especially in Côte d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Uruguay and Paraguay) and new thematic areas such as environmental crimes and the associated trans-Atlantic illicit flows, and the development of sustainable regional training modules focused on trafficking.
 

Learn more about SEACOP on the project’s website: https://illicitflows.eu/projects/seacop/

Follow the project on Twitter: @SEACOPEU