Budapest, Hungary 25 June 2026
The INCB Global Rapid Interdiction of Dangerous Substances (GRIDS) Programme supported a specialized training course in Budapest, Hungary, led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The course aimed to strengthen national capacities to identify, investigate, and dismantle transnational criminal networks involved in the trafficking and diversion of precursor chemicals.
Thirty-six law enforcement officers from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia took part, representing investigative and enforcement units engaged in counter-narcotics and criminal intelligence work.
The curriculum covered safe handling procedures, diversion methods, clandestine laboratory environments, manufacturing techniques, chemical investigations, interviewing strategies, emerging trends, chemical inspections and audits. A scenario-based practical exercise gave participants the opportunity to apply these skills in a simulated investigation, strengthening their ability to detect diversion points and disrupt trafficking networks.
GRIDS Programme trainers delivered dedicated sessions on online investigation techniques and open-source intelligence (OSINT), alongside further instructions in safe handling. Participants were introduced to key INCB intelligence tools, including IONICS and GRIDS Intelligence HD, as well as the Scanning Novel Opioids Online Platform (SNOOP), which monitors online vendors advertising fentanyl-related substances and novel synthetic opioids. In addition, trainers presented the findings of the Programme's most recent global operation on vapes laced with dangerous 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.
The GRIDS trainers’ participation in 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 (INL).
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
