The training program was designed as a simulated case tailored for the Burundi context involving a gold smuggling route originating from DRC across the Burundi border.

A fictitious newspaper article about the arrest and detention of a motorbike courier smuggling gold bars across the border starts off the case resulting in several whistleblower reports about the alleged instances of smuggling that takes place routinely. The training teams role-play the investigator to methodically piece together evidentiary documents provided by the training facilitators to solve the case and make presentations at the end of the 5-day class.

The training participants communicated a number of capacity, political will and knowledge challenges faced by them in Burundi and the region. There was keen interest and engagement with the hands-on approach of the training workshop. The initial training program attempted to sow seeds of enhanced law enforcement action and the institutional will to prevent the illegal exploitation of natural resources in the ICGLR region.