The 33^rd Administrative Meeting of National Contact Points of the WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Asia and the Pacific (the 33^rd NCP Meeting) was held in hybrid mode on 27-29 September 2022 in Seoul, Republic of Korea for in-person participants and on Zoom for remote attendees. The meeting was jointly hosted by RILO AP and Korea Customs Service (KCS). A total of 110 participants attended the meeting, including 25 member administrations (Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Hong Kong of China, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Macao of China, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Vietnam), 7 international organizations (WCO Secretariat, RILO CIS, ROCB AP, UNODC, SINCB, US DEA, and US CSI), and 9 RILO AP staff members.

Ms. Hae-Yeong Paik, Deputy Head of RILO AP, thanked all participants for their presence and declared the opening of the meeting. Mr. Jae-Yong Seo, Director General of Investigation Bureau of KCS, firstly delivered opening remarks and extended his gratitude to all participants for attending the 33^rd NCP Meeting. He acknowledged RILO AP’s pivotal role in the enforcement network, and appreciated member administrations for their continuous support and dedication. Then Mr. Cheon-Jeong Park, Head of RILO AP, warmly welcomed all the delegates and appreciated KCS for hosting RILO AP since 2012. Thirdly, Mr. Norikazu Kuramoto, Head of ROCB AP, expressed appreciation for RILO AP for inviting ROCB AP to the meeting and warmly congratulated them for organizing it. The last welcoming remarks by Mr. Reiner Pungs, Program Manager of UNODC, was followed. He also thanked for inviting UNODC to the meeting and mentioned that he looked forward to seeing good discussion in the next few days during the meeting.

Mr. Cheon-Jeong Park was announced to be chaired the meeting and Mr. Kyung Soo Jeon, a delegate from KCS, elected as a co-chairperson. After adopting agenda, Ms. Hae-Yeong Paik presented Progress Report of RILO AP and introduced the outline of RILO AP’s ongoing activities as well as a summary of outputs by RILO AP since the last NCP Meeting. Ms. Jiyeon Bae, CEN Manager of RILO AP, reported the result of CEN questionnaire which was surveyed for the purpose of assessing CEN uses’ needs. Bangladesh, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand Customs were selected as awardees at the CEN Award 2022 ceremony. Mr. Cheon-Jeong Park presented each member with a plaque and appreciated their contributions.

The presentations continued; “Debriefing of Operation IRENE III” (RILO AP and China Customs), “Operation Jetway Training” (US Drug Enforcement Administration), “Smuggling Trend in Japan” (Japan Customs), “Operation Mekong Dragon IV” (Australian Border Force), “An Information Sharing Initiative” (Korea Customs Service), “Operation Lynx South-East Asia” (WCO Revenue Programme), “Operation Pathfinder” (RILO CIS), “Effort to Anti-Smuggling and Illicit Trafficking of Drugs and Wildlife under OMD” (Vietnam Customs), and “Combating Commercial Fraud and Smuggling in Bangladesh” (Bangladesh Customs).

On the next day, participants shared their valuable experiences and continued their heated discussions on various topics. “Joint Anti-Drug Operation Siren” (Korea Customs Service), “Drug Trafficking through Maritime Route: Shifting Trends” (India Customs), “Drug Trafficking” (Malaysia Customs), “Cooperation as the Key Factor in the Fight against Drug Trafficking in Thailand” (Thailand Customs), and “Drug Trafficking and Crimes that Affect the Environment” (UNODC) were delivered.

On the last day, Mr. Jeon, co-chairperson, opened the floor to the participants and the last session began. “CEN Experience” (Mongolia Customs), “Presentation by Pakistan” (Pakistan Customs), “GRIDS Operational Initiatives to Support Countries to Counter Trafficking in Dangerous Substances” (INCB), “Operation JARDENA: Tackling Organized Crime in Supply Chains” (Australian Border Force), and “Capacity Building Activity in Asia Pacific Region” (ROCB AP) were presented. Japan Customs briefly   explained the transition plan of RILO AP to Tokyo, Japan in 2024. Also Japan Customs expressed their intention to host the next RILO AP NCP Meeting and their proposal was accepted with the full support of the participants. After the closing ceremony, the chairperson expressed his deepest gratitude to all attendees and declared the meeting closed.