On January 26, 2024, ASEANAPOL Secretariat (AS) received a visit by Mr. Steve Galster, Global Chair of Freeland together with Ms. Prerana Sethiya. They were warmly welcomed by the AS Executive Director David Martinez Vinluan, Assistant Commissioner of Police Dr. Bakri Zainal Abidin - Director for Police Services, Police Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huu Ngoc - Director for Plans and Programmes, Superintendent Azrul Hisham Mohd Shaffei - Head of Administrative and Technical Staff and AS officers.
The visit was intended to discuss potential future collaboration of Freeland with ASEANAPOL as its coordinating partner. Mr. Steve Galster presented Freeland’s objectives: to improve capacities within target agencies to detect, investigate and seize illegal wildlife and criminal assets, and arrest and prosecute traffickers; and to improve capacities within target agencies to coordinate with other agencies and across borders to detect, disrupt, and deter transnational wildlife trafficking supply chains. He also discussed Freeland’s activities particularly about on TRIPOD II (Targeting Regional Investigations for Policing Opportunities & Development) that focuses on Lao PDR, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The TRIPOD II round tables focus on: Form Border-Focused Interagency Task Forces; Trafficking Free Enterprises: Airports and Seaports; Counter Transnational Organized Crime (C-TOC); Special Investigation Group (SIG) Meetings; and C-TOC Online Learning Management System.
Freeland sees ASEANAPOL Secretariat a critical institution in the global efforts to counter transnational crimes especially wild life crimes.
ASEANAPOL Motto: “Together We Keep This Region Safe”