Bangkok, Thailand, 3-4 August 2026
The GRIDS Programme in Southeast Asia, through its Regional Technical Officer for East, Southeast Asia and the Pacific based in Bangkok, contributed to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Course at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA). The briefing strengthened participants' capacities to investigate the financial dimensions of the trafficking of non-medical synthetic opioids and other dangerous substances, including illicit financial flows, money laundering, cryptocurrency-related investigations, and asset forfeiture.
The course brought together thirty (30) participants from six countries across Southeast Asia – Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. Participants included narcotics investigators, financial investigators, and law enforcement officers responsible for combating transnational organized crime and disrupting the proceeds of drug trafficking.
The five-day programme covered key areas including regional drug trends, financial investigations, confidential source handling, undercover money operations, interview techniques, cryptocurrency and money laundering investigations, asset forfeiture, and practical operational exercises. Scenario-based training enabled participants to apply investigative techniques in simulated financial and undercover operations, strengthening their ability to identify and disrupt criminal networks.
As part of the programme, representatives of the INCB GRIDS Programme – its Regional Technical Officer for East, Southeast Asia and the Pacific and Project Associate – delivered sessions introducing GRIDS and its operational tools, with a particular focus on the Scanning Novel Opioids Online Platform (SNOOP). Participants received briefings on open-source intelligence (OSINT) techniques and the use of SNOOP to identify online vendors of fentanyl-related substances and other dangerous substances of concern, including its application in cryptocurrency-related investigations. Through hands-on practical exercises using real-life data, participants applied SNOOP and OSINT methodologies to identify online trafficking activities and develop investigative leads, demonstrating the value of digital investigative tools in supporting financial and narcotics investigations.
This initiative supported regional efforts to combat transnational organized crime by strengthening the financial investigative capabilities of frontline law enforcement officers and enhancing international cooperation. The GRIDS Programme welcomed the opportunity to contribute to this DEA-led initiative, highlighting how operational intelligence tools, open-source investigations and international information-sharing can assist authorities in disrupting drug trafficking networks and the illicit financial activities that sustain them.
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.
The GRIDS Programme is supported by the Governments of Japan and the United States. This event 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
