Second Annual Law Enforcement Conference: Drug Control Networks

The Council of Europe International Co-operation Group on Drugs and Addictions (Pompidou Group) held its Second Annual Law Enforcement Conference: Drug Control Networks in Strasbourg from 19-21 November 2024.

This event brought together participants from the police, customs, justice, private sector, academia, and other sectors, representing Council of Europe member states as well as experts from observer states and non-member states. Representatives of regional and international organisations such as Interpol, Europol, Eurojust, the UNODC, the EUDA and the WCO are also taking part in the discussions.

The conference covered a wide range of topics related to drug manufacturing, trafficking via general aviation, the digital drug trade, precursor chemicals, emerging trends in synthetic drugs, the link between AI and drug control, and the environmental ramifications of waste disposal related to drug production.

Moreover, in line with each day’s profile, group sessions were held, covering operational strategies, global challenges, evolving patterns in drug supply and trafficking, crime in Europe tied to drug activities, legislative developments, aspects of proliferation of counterfeit products, dynamics of drug trade: cryptocurrencies and money laundering, intermodal transportation challenges, and open-source intelligence.

• Conference Pogramme
• Summary report
• List of participants

Annual Conference of Drug Control Networks 2023

170 experts from 40 countries, 5 international organizations, academia and the private sector attended the first Annual Conference of Drug Control Networks hosted by the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe. It was the first edition of a new conference format launched by the Pompidou bringing together participants from different drug control and law enforcements sectors:  trafficking through airports, general aviation, precursors control, and drugs related cybercrime. This integrated conference format allows for more synergies between different law enforcement services, in particular border control, criminal investigation and customs services. Plenary sessions addressed topics of overarching interest such as (1) developments in drug supply and trafficking, (2) online challenges and opportunities, and (3) operations and international cooperation. Specific specialised sessions included (1) precursors awareness, (2) airport inside threat, (3) synthetic drug threats, (4) drugs online, (5) general aviation, (6) internet, AI and other internet-related threats, (7) gaming & recruitment, (8) money laundering & fraud, and (9) managing trauma, stress and mental health. High-profile international experts and researchers provided evidence based input for the discussions.