Skopje, 22 August 2024 (MIA) — Customs Administration director Boban Nikolovski and Public Security Bureau director Aleksandar Janev met Thursday and agreed to start working on a new memorandum of cooperation and a protocol for its implementation, according to an official press release.

According to the Customs Administration release, improving institutional communication and clearly defining competences would lead to a faster intervention and assistance in prosecuting crime.

Nikolovski said the fight against crime required raising the awareness of customs officials so everyone would contribute to the fight against crime.

"The expertise and intelligence available to the Custom Administration and the Public Security Bureau provide key elements for uncovering and breaking up criminal organizations," Nikolovski is quoted as saying in the release. 

"Through improving cooperation and the exchange of data as well as faster intervention and assistance at the inter-sectoral and inter-institutional levels, we expect to completely eradicate crime," he said. 

Public Security Bureau head Janev said they were stadfastly determined to restore order and ensure security for all citizens of the state.

"Only through a cooperative action, following trends in the field of technology, and fully raising staff professionalism will we stand in the way of organized cross-border crime," Janev said. mr/