From 24 to 28 March 2025, the 45th Session of the Enforcement Committee was held under the theme “Customs Canine Units: Delivering Enforcement in an Era of Technological Change,” with the participation of officials from customs administrations, including the State Customs Service of Ukraine, WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices, and a wide range of stakeholders.

During the first panel discussion on “ Drugs,” the State Customs Service of Ukraine presented proposals of the RDTC (Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine) for the draft Framework for the Framework for The Development of The Accreditation Standard for WCO Regional Dog Training Centres, the final version of which will be presented to the WCO in 2026.

Man and women delegates welcomed the six panel discussions, during which they had the opportunity to:

1. Exchange views on a wide range of topics, namely: challenges and prospects for Customs canine units; operational insights addressing key enforcement gaps in combating environmental crime; Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threats in the 21st century; risks posed by illicit trade across e-commerce platforms; rtificial Intelligence in the risk management domain; and challenges posed by and the most effective methods for tackling trade-based money laundering.
2. Become acquainted with 6 new tools for combating illicit trade in various enforcement domains, namely: WCO Standards for Dog Training Centres; Standard Operating Procedures for controls of shipments of substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol; an update of the WCO Customs Risk Management Compendium; guidelines on Customs responses to industry referrals and for Customs Targeting Centres; and the “Fraud Detected through Post-Clearance Audit and its Techniques” tool.
3. Learn about:
   1. the jointly developed WCO-INTERPOL practical tool “List of dual-use commodities related to biological weapons,” which contains information on both controlled and non-controlled commodities that may potentially be used in the production and dissemination of biological weapons.
   1. the ongoing roll-out of the WCO GEOPORTAL tool for fighting drug trafficking carried out via general aviation;
   1. the latest initiatives of the private sector and academia in the fight against drug trafficking.
4. Hear presentations on the results and lessons learned from global and regional operations: THUNDER 2024 on countering wildlife and timber trafficking; Operation DEMETER X on waste and substances; Operation Action IPR A/P III in the field of intellectual property rights; and Operation FRONPIAS.