INCB raises awareness on dangerous substances and builds information sharing capacity in Medellin and Bogota (Colombia)
27 July 2022 Medellin and Bogota, Colombia - The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) Global Rapid Interdiction of Dangerous Substances (GRIDS) Programme concluded two comprehensive trainings to support Colombian law and regulatory enforcement agencies in facing trafficking of new psychoactive substances (NPS), emerging synthetic opioids and other dangerous substances in Medellin and Bogota. The events raised awareness on the safe handling and interdiction of these dangerous substances and provided the participants with the latest regional and global trends. The trainings also extended access to INCB's global communications platforms and advanced targeting tools, such us IONICS, GRIDS Intel and GRIDS Elite, to counter NPS trafficking globally.
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| Photos: Participants learning how to use INCB's IONICS platform in Medellin | |
32 officers from Antinarcotics police (DIRAN), Customs (DIAN) and postal security took part in the training in Medellin, on the 21 and 22 of July 2022. The event was opened by the Director of Medellin Customs, Ms. Sonia Cristina Uribe Vasquez, who emphasized in her opening remarks, the importance of the cooperation both within the country and at the international level, to prevent the illicit trafficking of dangerous substances.
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| Photos: The training in Bogota was hosted by the DIAN academy. | |
In Bogota, the training assembled 67 officers from Antinarcotics Police (DIRAN), Customs (DIAN) and postal security. The event featured opening remarks by Ms. Sandra Liliana Cadavid Ortiz, Director of the Subdirectorate of Customs Inspection, and Mayor Marlon Favian Valencia Orjuela, Director of the International Centre for Strategic Studies on Drug Trafficking (CIENA). During the event, officers from DIRAN and DIAN presented the latest trafficking trends, seizures, and methods of concealment of dangerous substances encountered in Colombia.
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| Photos: on-site visits to the Airport Security Customs' facilities at the El Dorado International Airport and to the DIRAN's anti-drug chemical investigative laboratory. | |
It also included two on-site visits of DIAN facilities, to the International Airport El Dorado to learn about cargo examination procedures, and to the anti-drug chemical investigative laboratory of the Antinarcotics Police to gain an understanding of the techniques and equipment used to test NPS and other dangerous substances.
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.
This event was organized in collaboration with DIAN and was made possible through generous support from the United States of America's Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
Click here to learn more about the GRIDS Programme
Click here to learn more about the OPIOIDS Project
Click here to learn more about the Project ION