Events

MINSK, 11 May (BelTA) – The Minsk central customs house and the Polish Investment and Economic Development Ministry acting on behalf of the European Union have signed a grant contract on enhancing capabilities of the canine service of the Belarusian and Polish customs services, BelTA learned from the website of the State Customs Committee of Belarus.

The Minsk central customs house will be the leading beneficiary of the project. The project will be implemented together with the tax administration of Bialystok. The European Union will contribute about €220,000, including some €130,000 intended for Belarus.

The project is aimed at fighting organized crime, preventing criminal activities and the smuggling of contraband or restricted goods across the border. With greater mobility personnel of the canine services will be able to more effectively exercise their customs control functions, particularly with regard to the transportation of prohibited goods. Personnel of the Belarusian and Polish canine services will be trained with this in mind. Special means for transporting service dogs have been acquired as well.

Work is now in progress to prepare the documents to register the international technical aid project. Once the registration is complete, the project’s implementation will begin.