Afghan Customs delegation visits CBP facilities

Afghan Customs delegation visits CBP facilities    A delegation of Afghan border control officials led by Bismellah Kammawie, director general of customs, is touring U.S. ports of entry to learn how Customs and Border Protection secures the border, processes commercial trade, enforces import laws and manages its workforce, according to the U.S. State Department.
   The Afghan customs officials are scheduled to visit Dulles International Airport in Virginia and checkpoints along the Texas-Mexico border. A CBP spokesman said the group would be in El Paso later this week. The Brownsville Herald reported that the delegation visited the Pharr-Reynosa border crossing on Monday.
   The State Department and CBP are working to strengthen the capability of Afghan Customs through training and other assistance, including building two ports of entry and establishing the first Customs Academy in Afghanistan. The academy will be one-year-old next month, the State Department said Nov. 12.
   CBP has trained several hundred Afghan officials on drug and bomb interdiction techniques and enforcement efforts related to smuggling of bulk cash. The agency is also helping Afghan border personnel detect ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer used as an ingredient improvised explosive devices. Afghan Customs officials have since seized several shipments of ammonium nitrate, the State Department said. IEDs are the leading killer of U.S. and coalition troops, as well as Afghan civilians, in the country.
   'Afghanistan is a poor nation and we are in dire need for the resources for customs and border security. We are not in control of all of our borders,' Kammawie told the Texas newspaper. ' Eric Kulisch