SANTO DOMINGO - International drug trafficking has become one of the main challenges to customs in transborder trade in the Americas and Caribbean, the World Customs Organization (WCO) said Wednesday, adding it has made efforts to tackle the threat.

Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya said customs sectors in these regions are largely supporting the training of staff and use of modern technologies to combat the threat.

The WCO members have given priority to fight drug trafficking by training their agents and improving the systems of information exchange among the administrations of foreign trade in each country.

But the offices recently have the extra responsibility "to detect the smuggling of illegal substances in the ports" of entry to the countries, Mikuriya told Xinhua, speaking on the sidelines of the conference "Customs Innovation" held here.

He also said that as part of efforts to assist customs offices, WCO offers an operational platform for data exchange of shipments in transit, aimed to speed up the processes in the ports which at the same time can help detect the transit of illegal goods.