On 2nd August 2022, ASEANAPOL Secretariat received a visit led by Mr. Steve Galster, Global Chair Freeland, together with Royal Thai Police Major General Petcharat Sangchai (Retired), Cheif Executive Officer of Freeland – Thailand and Pol. Lt. Col. Teerapong Dunlayawijan, Financial Investigation Analyst from Anti-Money Laundering Office of Thailand. They were warmly welcomed by the Executive Director of ASEANAPOL Secretariat, Pol. Brig. Gen. Zaw Lin Tun, Director for Plans and Programmes, Supt. Tang Yik Tung, Head of Administrative and Technical Staffs, Supt. Azrul Hisham bin Mohd Shaffei, Chief Assistant Director (Intelligence/Special Investigation), Special Operation Force, Department of Internal Security & Public Order, Royal Malaysia Police, ACP Sulizmie Affendy bin Sulaiman, and officers of the Secretariat.
The visit was intended to discuss potential future collaboration with ASEANAPOL in particular, to brief about the upcoming Regional Wildlife Trafficking and Anti Money Laundering Conference, dated on 8th to 11th August 2022 in Bangkok and, to present the current organizational works of Freeland in the region and beyond.
Freeland in their presentation highlighted capacity building for frontline officers who are working in wildlife trafficking crimes and its related money laundering issues, wildlife preservation campaign and networking among like-minded partners, and explained an evolving library of counter-wildlife trafficking training courses and tools that are multilingual, tailored for law enforcement and other agencies of ASEAN member states. Freeland also shared their successful stories including the establishment of a Special Investigation Team/Group and the development of Counter Transnational Organized Crime (CTOC) trainings and that could be provided to ASEANAPOL's Plans and Programmes for its review, feedback, and possible use.
Freeland also continues to see ASEANAPOL Secretariat as a critical institution in global efforts to CTOC, and as such, they wish to plan relevant events in coordination with ASEANAPOL Secretariat and to support it as a leading implementer to host or co-host.
In the meeting, Freeland also shared the information on trafficking syndicates, and this information will be channelled to the relevant authorities among ASEANAPOL Member Countries (AMCs). This collaboration will enable authorities to curb the criminal acts committed by the syndicates.
The Secretariat expressed its willingness to explore further cooperation with Freeland and proposed the options of working relationship by mean of signing MoU in conformity to ASEANAPOL’s ToR, meanwhile, to deliver training courses to all AMCs based on the mutual agreement between two organizations.
Furthermore, the Secretariat shared an idea to Freeland which is to establish the crime database and analysis system in order to understand the regional crime development and trends through assistance from Freeland and Secretariat encouraged to provide intelligence information related with the operations or fugitives, in doing so, Secretariat can transform these information into operational direction.
The both sides agreed upon all discussion points and the meeting was successfully concluded with fruitful discussions at local time 1230 pm.
