Accra, Aug. 12, GNA - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) in collaboration with Interpol Ghana is to organise a five-day training programme aimed at combating illicit drug trade in the country. The programme, also intended to check money laundering and organised crime by the use of common Software Application System (SAS), is known as the Global Container Control Project. A statement signed in Accra by Mr Francis Opoku Amoah, Public Relations Officer, Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) on Tuesday, said the project sought to counter drug trafficking, money laundering and other related crimes in Ghana and within the West African sub-region by the use of a facility called Real Time Analytical Intelligence Database (RAID).

RAID, a software application introduced by the United States National Drug intelligence Centre (NDIC), manages large quantities of data gathered during document and media exploitation operation for prosecution purposes. According to Mr Philip Sewing, Regional Coordinator at UNODC, Darkar, the objective of the programme to be attended by participants from Ghana and Togo, was to train officers to use the software application to run their own investigation and to share ideas and information among neighbouring countries. He noted that the RAID facility had been at the premise of NACOB to exploit information and build cases of organised crimes. "The facility which includes computers, scanners, telephone and other gadgets will record key pieces of information and will quickly identify links among people, places, business, financial accounts and telephone numbers, among others," Mr Sewing said. 12 Aug. 08