Building multi-agency intelligence sharing capacity in Europe
Bratislava, 24 January 2020 - The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) held a training workshop in Slovakia to strengthen capacity of Austrian and Slovak law-enforcement agencies to counter trafficking of new psychoactive substances (NPS), chemicals and non-scheduled dangerous substances. The training, held on 24 January in Bratislava, Slovakia, included 6 Slovak officers from the Ministry of Economics, Police, Customs and the Ministry of Health, and 2 Austrian officers from Customs.
The goal of the training was to support participating countries in strengthening their capacities to collect, integrate, and exchange information and trafficking intelligence on non-scheduled substances like dangerous fentanyl-related analogues and related pre-precursors, through the effective use of INCB's global platforms Project ION Incident Communication System (IONICS) and the Precursors Incidents Communications System (PICS). Mr. Andrew Lengyel, from the Ministry of Finance in Slovakia, stated that, "real-time intelligence provided by INCB global communication platforms will strengthen international cooperation in relation to information exchange and handling of cases related to precursors and NPS, particularly 4-CMC and 3-CMC".
Photo: Officers were instructed on the INCB global operational projects to counter trafficking in dangerous substances and precursors
The one-day capacity building training led by INCB experts was implemented jointly under the INCB global projects (Project ION, OPOIDS project and projects Cohesion and Prism). Officers learned about the changing NPS trafficking situation and regional differences in the opioid crisis and were trained in intelligence sharing and how to operate INCB's global secure communication platforms (IONICS and PICS) to send and receive intelligence and alerts that support domestic and international investigations of dangerous substances that are not internationally scheduled.
Photo: INCB trained officers on features of the IONICS platform
The Board's global projects (Project ION, OPIOIDS Project and Project PRISM), support Governments' capacity to respond to changing trafficking, online marketing and sales patterns of NPS, fentanyl-related substances and their precursors, by building trust, improving communication and facilitating information sharing that interdict distribution of these dangerous substances.
The one-day training utilized INCB's new rapid training approach for intelligence sharing, made possible through the generous support of the Government of Japan.
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here to learn more about the OPIOIDS Project
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here to learn more about the Project ION
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here to learn more about INCB Precursor Controls