The Indirect Taxation Administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ITA BiH) today received a donation in the form of specialist equipment for the detection of drugs and explosives, procured as part of the Project for the Prevention of Illicit Trade and Trafficking in Arms in BiH (Halting Arms and Lawbreaking Trade- HALT), which is implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
For a more effective fight against the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, the officers of the Administration will have at their disposal from today: seven devices for measuring the density of materials (the so-called baster), 25 sets for detecting explosives and drugs, 25 sets of universal tools, and 24 sets of tools for vehicle inspection, with a total value of more than 160,000 KM (without VAT).
The donation from UNDP BiH represents the continuation of support to the Administration within the project ‘HALT’ on the plan of further strengthening the capacity of the IIOBiH, i.e. improving working conditions with the aim of a more effective fight against illicit trade in small arms and light weapons (SALW), given that in the previous period, through the aforementioned project, UNDP BiH already donated 22 endoscopes and four detectors for explosives and drugs worth about 450,000 KM (without VAT).
In addition to the representatives of the UNDP in BiH and the ITA BiH, representatives of the suppliers who delivered the mentioned equipment attended the handover AT the premises of the ITA in Banja Luka.
The HALT project has been implemented since February 2020 as a joint project of UNDP in BiH and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with the intention of further improving security within and outside the borders of the Western Balkans, and through targeted action aimed at improving the capacities of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the fight against the illegal trade in SALW.
The HALT project is financed by the Federal Republic of Germany, the United Kingdom, the Republic of France, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Norway through the Multilateral Fund for the Western Balkans, with the support of the European Union, and within the Roadmap 2024 initiative for the control of small arms and light weapons in the Western Balkans.
