HSI Islamabad partners with Pakistan Customs to prevent illegal use of dangerous chemicals
In an effort to keep the citizens of Pakistan, the United States and other countries safer by preventing the illicit movement of dangerous chemicals, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Islamabad has coordinated the donation of 80 pickup trucks, 160 body armor suits, five electronic hand-held chemical analysis units and more than 10,000 chemical test kits to Pakistan Customs.
HSI’s leadership in partnering with the Pakistan Customs Service helped in the launch of the End Use Verification project that will help monitor the import and export of chemicals that are used both legally and illegally.
“The partnership between HSI Islamabad and the Pakistan Customs Service has been a positive relationship that has grown over the last 4 ½ years since I’ve been assigned here,” said HSI Pakistan Regional Attaché Salvador Briseño. “This project will help deter those who promote the illegal use of chemicals in the manufacturing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and therefore will ultimately save lives.”
Because of the equipment HSI coordinated to be provided, the verification project will be able to safely facilitate the entry of dual-use chemicals that are being imported for legitimate purposes, while preventing those chemicals intended to be used in the creation of IEDs. HSI’s role in the EUV project has gained international attention as Pakistan Customs has been recognized as a leader by the World Customs Organization in their efforts to stop the illegal use of dual use precursor chemicals.
According to Briseño, HSI’s partnership with Pakistan in the development of the verification project demonstrates its commitment to ICE’s mission of protecting America’s borders, national security and public safety from transnational threats both at home and abroad.
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