Case study: Working in partnership with IEMS academy in Oman

Smuggling valuable metals across the border has become a serious issue for businesses, government entities, and community at large in Oman. These materials are easily melted down and used in the construction or mechanical industries, and with the price for iron in the region of US $150 per tonne encouraging such criminal activity, the economic consequences od such acts can be immense.

In October 2018 we delivered a customised training programme in partnership with the IEMS Academy (based in Sharjah, UAE) on the prevention of valuable metal smuggling to 37 employees from government, private sector and law enforcement bodies in Oman. This highlighted the challenges they face in creating awareness of the issue and developing proactive ways of dealing with these unlawful acts.

OUR APPROACH

This two-day programme aimed to accelerate understanding amongst law enforcement employees of how to combat the growing problem of metal smuggling. Employees at all levels were educated on how to spot the three main modus operandi of illicit smugglers in order to better identify dangerous situations and reduce the financial risks to the country by implementing anti-smuggling measures.

The course was a mixture of theory and practical work with delegates shown examples of precious metals to help aid identification in the field.

The training equipped participants with the knowledge to better understand the laws around smuggling and what actions they can take internally and externally to mitigate the issue. It also focussed on preventative strategies to overcome these unlawful acts. Participants developed an anti-crime strategy to put learnings into effect, including technological and legal approaches to tackling this form of criminal activity.

One of the delegates who attended the training commented:

“The experience was excellent and we benefited from it.”