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A team of INTERPOL officials led by Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Jenifer Cawan, Head of the International Policing Organization in Sierra Leone, on Wednesday, 10th July 2024, paid a courtesy visit to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), William Fayia Sellu, at his George Street office in Freetown.
The team comprised Operations SCREEN Coordinator, Mohamed Moussa, and Abalo Assih, Criminal Intelligence Officer from the Counter-Terrorism Directorate.
The delegation was in Sierra Leone to engage stakeholders ahead of the SCREEN Operations scheduled for October and November 2024.
Moussa, who doubles as the Operations SCREEN Coordinator, briefed IGP Sellu on the team’s mission, which includes conducting a pre-assessment of the planned operations and providing training. He explained that the SCREEN Operations involve a systematic monitoring of individuals and their travel documents at entry and exit points of seaports, airports, and land borders by consulting INTERPOL databases and other national or regional databases.
Abalo Assih, the Criminal Intelligence Officer, further elaborated that the aim of SCREEN Operations is to strengthen checks on crew members, cargo, and passengers on merchant ships and small craft operating in the Gulf of Guinea. He emphasized that the initiative aims to increase the use of INTERPOL databases by member states to better monitor the movement of terrorists and identify, locate, arrest, and prosecute suspected terrorists who cross West African borders and are involved in terrorism and other organized criminal activities.
Assih added that the Operations SCREEN West Africa aims to achieve three key outcomes: facilitating transnational investigations based on information provided by participating countries, publishing INTERPOL notices if relevant, and increasing the use of INTERPOL databases and facilitating the exchange of information using I-24/7.
IGP Sellu welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support, noting that West Africa is grappling with various challenges highlighted by the team. He expressed his gratitude for the training packages provided by INTERPOL since the launch of the West Africa Police Information System (WAPIS) and Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), which have yielded dividends in policing operations.
The IGP expressed optimism about the successful conduct of the SCREEN Operations and pledged to follow up on its outcome. He acknowledged that there are numerous movements of drugs and light arms in the sub-region and reiterated his commitment to working closely with INTERPOL and other law enforcement agencies.
IGP Sellu applauded the efforts of Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Cawan and her team for their collaborative partnership and lauded INTERPOL’s capacity-building initiatives for police personnel.
