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Contraband Smuggling Joint Forces Operation (CSJFO)
The smuggling of manufactured tobacco products rose dramatically in Canada by 1993, resulting in the formidable loss of revenue to the federal and provincial governments. Criminal smuggling organizations were well established in the transportation, storage and distribution of this contraband product in the Province of British Columbia. With the expanding complexity and flexibility of these criminal smuggling organizations, Vancouver RCMP Customs and Excise Section and Revenue Canada Customs recognized the need to strengthen their partnership to effectively and efficiently combine resources to meet their common goal to disrupt or dismantle these criminal smuggling organizations.
In 1993 Revenue Canada Customs Border Services, Intelligence Services, Pacific Region and Vancouver RCMP Customs and Excise Section signed a Memorandum of Understanding titled the Tobacco Smuggling Joint Forces Operation (TSJFO). The TSJFO would target criminal smuggling organizations involved in the transportation, storage and distribution of contraband manufactured tobacco products within the province.
Action / Results
The successful collaboration within the JFO environment resulted in the establishment of significant enforcement links for other contraband commodities besides manufactured tobacco products, such as spirits, firearms, jewellery and pornography. As a result, a new Letter of Agreement titled the Contraband Smuggling Joint Forces Operation (CSJFO) was signed in 1998 to acknowledge the expanded role of the CSJFO that better reflected the reality of the current contraband threat. The objectives of the CSJFO are to jointly enhance the enforcement and intelligence gathering efforts of both agencies by: gathering intelligence and ensuring documented action or dissemination of the information to both agencies in accordance with respective policies, and to any other accredited law enforcement agency as the need arose; liaising with other interested agencies to solicit their cooperation in accordance with their respective polices; identifying and developing human sources ensuring strict adherence to their respective policies and issuing media releases that have joint agreement by both agencies as to the content and timing of releases.
The CSJFO currently consists of one Revenue Canada Customs Regional Intelligence Officer (RIO) and one Regional Intelligence Analyst (RIA) that work out of Vancouver Customs and Excise Section's office and are administered by the Supervisor of the Federal Anti Smuggling Unit of Vancouver Customs and Excise Section. The RIO and RIA services are available to all Vancouver Customs and Excise Section units, and our outlying division Customs and Excise Sections.
The Regional Intelligence Officer's duties include issuing local, regional or national Customs look outs; assisting in surveillance; opening intelligence and operational files; conducting lane checks at Ports of Entry (POE); submit Customs operational plans to coordinate joint investigations; facilitate obtaining customs documents; conducting queries on various Customs data bases; source handling; coordinate Customs responsibilities in controlled deliveries through the Ports; and is the primary liaison with Ports of Entry and other Customs divisions.
The Regional Intelligence Analyst's duties include providing complete intelligence analytical services; provide expertise in the use of a major case management data base; work closely with our division criminal analytical section; generate link analysis charts; provide DNR analysis; is a presentation material resource and provides statistical reports.
Several benefits are achieved by having members from each agency working in the same office. This includes joint surveillance and debriefings; full access is available to each agency's databases in accordance with their respective policies; full use of vehicles from each agency that are assigned to the JFO; joint operational plans are drafted with expertise provided from both agencies. The approval, or "selling", of these plans is much easier when submitted by members of each respective agency; direct and often transparent lines of communication to the POE or RCMP detachments, as well as specialized sections within each agency; information independently gathered by each agency is openly shared; informants are handled jointly by one handler from each agency in compliance with their respective policies; press releases are completed on JFO letterhead with a contact listed for each agency; members of the JFO are included in specialized training offered by each agency and results are shared by each agency and are noted as a "JFO."
This six-year partnership has achieved significant results in addressing the ever-changing contraband threat. The CSJFO created a highly skilled and dedicated intelligence and enforcement team. It successfully directs its combined efforts toward disrupting or dismantling criminal smuggling organizations operating in both agencies areas of responsibility. Nationally and within each respective agency, the JFO is a leader in forming joint investigative and intelligence initiatives. Since its inception, the quantitative and qualitative enforcement and intelligence results of the CSJFO have continually been impressive.
Despite the success of this JFO in the Pacific Region, there still exists well orchestrated criminal smuggling organizations that exploit and continue to smuggle a multitude of commodities into Canada both through and around the POE's. This reality further confirms the necessity for law enforcement agencies with a common goal to combine resources to disrupt or dismantle these criminal smuggling organizations. This JFO is a clear and direct example of a best practice in our efforts to provide responsible enforcement, quality service and education in the most cost effective and efficient manner.
Canada Customs: Jim GRAVEL, Regional Intelligence
Officer
Canada Customs, Intelligence Services
Contraband Smuggling JFO
Telephone: (604) 543 -4710
Fax: (604) 543-4999
E-mail: ROSS or jim.gravel@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
RCMP: Sgt. Bruce TIBONI, Supervisor
Vancouver Customs and Excise Section
Federal Anti-Smuggling Unit
Telephone: (604) 543 -4711
Fax: (604) 543-4999
E-mail: ROSS or bruce.tiboni@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
JFO Mailing Address: Officer in Charge
Vancouver Customs and Excise Section
12992 - 76 Avenue
Surrey, B.C.
V3W 2V6
