April 28, 2006

U.S. Embassy Sponsors Albanian Border Security Training Program

The Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Tirana, with support from the U.S. Department of Justice’s International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – Office of International Affairs and through close cooperation with the Ministry of Interior’s Border and Migration Police Office, organized a weeklong series of training sessions on False Travel Documents and Impostor Recognition.

Over 90 Albanian Border and Migration Police Officers working at five different border crossings and 10 representatives from the General Prosecutor’s Office received this specialized training delivered by a U.S. Department of Homeland Security expert in fraud detection and imposter recognition. Participants were given hands-on experience in inspecting actual travel documents that had been seized from travelers either because the passports were false or altered or the traveler had been an imposter with a valid document. One special training session was offered to consular officials from other diplomatic missions represented in Albania to help them detect document fraud and to make them aware of the security features of the new Albanian passport.

The U.S. Government is committed to helping Albania improve its capacity to police and control its borders. This training is in direct support of the war on international crime and terror because it will limit the ability of criminals and terrorists to use false or stolen passports to cross borders. The training will also contribute to Albania’s ability to identify victims of human trafficking and fight the flow of illicit goods across borders.

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