Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 22 April 2026
The International Narcotics Control Board’s (INCB) Global Rapid Interdiction of Dangerous Substances (GRIDS) Programme supported the World Customs Organization (WCO) Synthetic Drug Detection Project – Mail Channel (SDDP-MC) initiative held from 20-24 April 2026 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The event aimed to strengthen the capacity of Mongolian Customs and Postal officers to detect and interdict synthetic drugs in the mail and express consignments.
The activity formed part of the WCO-SDDP-MC, which focuses on enhancing Customs responses to the trafficking of synthetic drugs through postal channels. It brought together Mongolian Customs and Postal officers working at the frontline of mail and express cargo controls – channels increasingly exploited by traffickers for their speed, volume, and anonymity.
As part of the GRIDS Programme’s contributions to the initiative, Mr. Aleksander Piecyk, GRIDS Regional Technical Officer (RTO) for Southeast and East Asia and the Pacific, and Mr. Matthew Nice, GRIDS Programme and Global Opioids Project manager, jointly led the technical sessions.
Mr. Nice provided an overview of global and regional trends in dangerous substances (namely new psychoactive substances (NPS), non-medical synthetic opioids, and their related precursors) and introduced INCB’s IONICS Suite of communications and intelligence tools for governments – including the IONICS, GRIDS Intelligence HD, CHEMPROFILER and ELITE – demonstrating how a global stream of information can be transformed into actionable intelligence to support interdiction and enforcement efforts. The second session gave participants the opportunity to see the Scanning of Novel Opioids on Online Platforms (SNOOP) tool, which leverages AI-driven risk profiling to monitor suspicious online vendors and marketplaces that misuse global e-commerce platforms to distribute synthetic opioids, including fentanyls and related precursors and equipment. Traffickers prey upon unsuspecting postal services and express couriers as the modality for delivery of potent deadly substances.
In the afternoon, Mr. Piecyk led practical sessions on the safe handling and interdiction of synthetic drugs and other high-risk substances, with a focus on officer safety and the appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Officers took part in a practical exercise that included risk profiling, physical inspection and conducting presumptive field tests on potential non-medical synthetic opioids. Following the safe interdiction, officers were tasked with investigating the contents of the package, all of which included real information on cases relating to Mongolia. Officers used IONICS, GRIDS Intelligence, and SNOOP to identify traffickers and vendors operating in the country, trafficking dangerous substances via mail channels. These hands-on components enhanced participants’ preparedness to respond safely and effectively to interceptions involving potent synthetic substances.
The Board's Global Rapid Interdiction of Dangerous Substances (GRIDS) Programme operates under the International Narcotics Control Board's unique Article 35 (1961) treaty mandate that supports Governments' capabilities to exchange information on trafficking, illicit manufacture, marketing and sales of NPS, synthetic opioids, fentanyls and related chemicals, by providing real-time communication, and capabilities to facilitate information exchange and intelligence development with the aim to interdict distribution of dangerous substances.
This event was made possible through generous support from the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, Department of State, U.S. Government.
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