The World Customs Organization (WCO), through the WCO–JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Joint Project and in partnership with the Customs administrations of Benin and Nigeria, has successfully concluded Operation GEOCONTROL, the first-ever WCO-led operational deployment using Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) as a core Customs enforcement capability. Conducted along the Benin–Nigeria border corridor, the operation combined geospatial analysis, risk profiling, and field intelligence to support coordinated Customs deployments between the two administrations. Leading officers participating in the operation had passed through a specific WCO-developed GEOINT training programme, namely the Master Trainer Programme on GEOINT.
Innovative technologies supporting Customs enforcement
Customs officers from Benin and Nigeria worked side by side to identify smuggling routes, map high-risk areas, and coordinate enforcement actions across strategic border locations, including official crossing points and vulnerable border zones.
Leveraging the WCO Geoportal, GEOINT and Geographic Information System (GIS) applications, drones, secure communication platforms through the WCO Customs Enforcement Network Communication Platform (CENcomm), and other advanced analytical tools, officers exchanged information in near real time and developed a shared operational picture of the border environment, strengthening their capacity to detect and disrupt illicit cross-border activities.
This enhanced situational awareness enabled targeted controls and interventions against a range of priority threats, including narcotics, arms and ammunition, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, counterfeit goods, and environmentally sensitive products protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Operation GEOCONTROL demonstrated the significant value of integrating geospatial intelligence and innovative technologies into Customs enforcement. It also reinforced the importance of coordinated regional responses to increasingly complex security, trade, and border management challenges.
The WCO Secretary General, Ian Saunders, said: “Operation GEOCONTROL demonstrates how Customs administrations can strengthen border security through technological innovation, intelligence-led enforcement and enhanced cooperation. Benin and Nigeria have showcased the tangible benefits of integrating innovative technologies and WCO-developed tools into operational practice. The operation also highlights the importance of cross-border and inter-agency cooperation in addressing increasingly complex security challenges and disrupting illicit trade networks.”
Newly acquired skills to operational deployment
Operation GEOCONTROL was designed to translate newly acquired GEOINT knowledge and skills into operational practice. The initiative aimed to demonstrate the practical application of geospatial intelligence in identifying high-risk areas, detecting operational hotspots, and enhancing intelligence-led decision-making, while strengthening bilateral cooperation and developing sustainable GEOINT capabilities within the Customs administrations.
Building on the successful completion of the WCO–JICA GEOINT Master Trainer Programme for West Africa, which brought together Customs officers from Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo, the operation showcased the tangible benefits of integrating innovative technologies and WCO-developed tools into operational practice.
WCO setting the agenda of global Customs enforcement
The entirety of Operation GEOCONTROL demonstrates the contribution of the WCO to setting the agenda of global Customs enforcement. The foundation of the operation closely reflects the priorities discussed within the WCO Enforcement Committee, particularly improving enforcement effectiveness through better use of data, intelligence and modern technologies such as the WCO Geoportal tool. GEOCONTROL represents an important milestone in Customs enforcement modernization and shows how WCO capacity building activities, including the Master Trainer Programme, partnerships and operational tools can translate data into actionable intelligence and concrete results that protect society
