Building Capacity with Austrian Customs and Postal Security Officers: Tools to Counter Tomorrow's Synthetic Drug Threats
30 April 2024, Vienna, Austria - A training event focused on enhancing the awareness and capabilities of Austrian Customs and Postal Officers to address the latest synthetic drug trafficking threats was organized by the International Narcotics Control Board's (INCB) Global Rapid Interdiction of Dangerous Substances (GRIDS) Programme in Vienna. Sixteen officers from across Austria participated in the event, providing access to the Project ION Communication System (IONICS) for real-time information sharing related to seizures of dangerous substances and training on GRIDS Intelligence HD for development of actionable intelligence for daily operations and risk-profiling.
Participants engaged in practical exercises including science-based, safe interdiction approaches using INCB field-tested techniques that build officer knowledge, skills and abilities in the real-world. Matthew Nice, GRIDS Programme Manager, stated, "having spent nearly 10 years in the international express shipping industry prior to joining the UN, these technologies and techniques support the realities faced by the fast-pace and at times hazardous work environments at the frontlines of express shipping modalities."
Photo: Theory and practical exercises involving the proper use of PPE in the field
Sessions also included safe interdiction theory and practical exercises that demonstrated proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to enhance officer awareness of safety measures when with suspected fentanyls and other dangerous substances. Officers also received access to the GRIDS E-Learning Individual Training Environment, providing training modules on INCB systems, safe interdiction and resources in all UN languages.
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.
The GRIDS Programme is supported by the Governments of Canada, Japan, and the United States.
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