INCB leads global response to emerging synthetic drugs and chemicals trafficking via express modalities with 100 officer and experts in Vienna
15 September 2023, Vienna, Austria - The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) convened the 6th international operational group to combat the trafficking of dangerous synthetic drugs and related chemicals through postal, express mail, courier, and air cargo services. Also known as POSTAL6, this year brought together 100 officers, experts and industry leaders over 30 Governments, private sector partners and international and regional organizations - including the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the Caribbean Community Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS), Interpol, the Pacific Transnational Crime Coordination Centre (PTCCC), UNODC's Container Control Programme (CCP), and the World Customs Organization (WCO).
In his opening statement, Mr. Matthew Nice, GRIDS Programme | OPIOIDS Project manager stated that, "the size of the 6th annual operational meeting exceeds all previous years events, owing to the importance governments and industry place on protecting supply chains from traffickers." Leveraging the accomplishments stemming from collaborative efforts under the 2018 INCB - UPU partnership agreement, this gathering structured within the framework of INCB Global Rapid Interdiction of Dangerous Substances (GRIDS) Programme's OPIOIDS Project, which recognizes the vital contribution that international postal, express mail, courier, and air cargo experts can make in addressing exploitation by traffickers of legitimate express shipping modalities by traffickers in dangerous substances.
Experts from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Estonia, Fiji, Germany, India, Indonesia, Luxembourg, the Maldives, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Uruguay, and Viet Nam. Alongside international private sector partners and global industry associations discussed the latest trafficking threats and security concerns related to dangerous non-scheduled and emerging synthetic substances. Special attention was given to the efforts and outcomes of INCB Operation Knockout, to stop trafficking of new psychoactive substances (NPS) used to facilitates sexual assault.
The Board's Global Rapid Interdiction of Dangerous Substances (GRIDS) Programme and Project ION and OPIOIDS Project support Governments' capacity to respond to changing trafficking, illicit manufacture, marketing and sales of NPS, non-medical synthetic opioids and fentanyl-related substances by providing real-time communication, facilitating information exchange and intelligence development that interdict distribution of dangerous substances at the source.
The GRIDS Programme enjoys support from the Governments of Canada, Japan, and the United States. This event was made possible through generous support from the Government of Canada's Global Affairs Canada and the United States Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
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