Taiwan and the US earlier this week signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance two-way intelligence sharing and jointly combat transnational drug trafficking, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) announced yesterday.
The MOU-signed on Monday in the US by Taiwan’s representative office and the AIT would enhance intelligence sharing between the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Taiwan High Prosecutors' Office by “enabling more efficient investigations and prosecutions of transnational drug trafficking organizations,” the AIT said in a news release.
Following its signing, the MOU was presented on Tuesday during the fourth annual Cross-Border Drug Enforcement Cooperation Forum held at the DEA headquarters in Arlington County, Virginia, the AIT news release said.
Photo: Chiu Chun-fu, Taipei Times
The annual forum, held for the first time in the US since its launch, brought together representatives from the DEA, the FBI, the US Postal Inspection Service and US Customs and Border Protection, as well as law enforcement agencies from Taiwan, it said.
The news release quoted DEA Asia Pacific Division Special Agent in charge John Scott as saying that the annual forum represents the “shared commitment of Taiwan and the United States to combat the scourge of drug trafficking.”
“DEA recognized that international cooperation is essential to dismantling drug trafficking organizations,” Scott said.
“This forum provided an opportunity to deepen partnerships, share intelligence, and develop strategies to combat the global drug trade,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan High Prosecutors' Office was quoted in the same news release as saying that the signing of the MOU and the holding of the annual forum “serve as a new starting point for deeper collaboration within the international law enforcement network.”
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