Cross-border drug investigations course in Italy

Organised by the Italian Framework Partner École Universitaire Internationale, the CEPOL cross-border drug investigations course (13/2021) kicked-off in Castelfranco Veneto (Italy) on Monday 22 November with the welcome address by the town’s mayor along with national and local authorities.

A total of 21 delegations and 40 participants attended this five-day course focusing on three main topics interlinked with cross-border drug investigations:

• New technologies (i.e. airborne remote sensing technology; geo-referencing by means of remote sensing systems; multi-hyperspectral image sensors), their utilization in supporting investigations and information gathering, for instance in tackling organised crime groups specialised in illicit production from the production to the processing in the laboratories, the international drug trafficking and drug insertion and distribution into markets;

• Undercover methods and techniques to enhance cross-border investigations. The course addressed Intelligence analysis techniques supporting investigative activities, how to implement them, along with methods and strategy to implement practitioners’ brain capabilities and skills through the overcome of biases and cognitive limits that affect investigations and information gathering;

• Criminal, investigative and intelligence analysis in drug trafficking cases individuating multi-faceted aspects and connections with organised crime groups along with financial investigative techniques. Current and future trends of the drug trafficking phenomena considering vectors and push factors that concern trafficking routes and modus operandi, and how to foreseeing them, their impact on Law Enforcement work and counteract activities.

The lectures have approached all the Course Learning Objectives addressing the main and the horizontal topics thanks also to the round table session, exercise and discussing the most recent joint international operations conducted also on the Italian soil with the presence of the Officers that have conducted the operations.

These topics were addressed from the various perspectives and methodologies used by Italian law enforcement agencies, such as DIA (Directorate of Investigation against Mafia), State Police Cyber Crime Unit, and Financial Police, as well as from actual work and investigations conducted by EUROPOL, EUROJUST, FRONTEX and the EMPACT mechanism.

Participants provided positive feedback after the course:

"It has been a pleasure to be a part of the cross border drug investigations course, and I am sure that we all have taken new ideas and knowledge back home with us."

Participant from Denmark

"Big thanks for CEPOL and École Universitaire Internationale for organising such a great course. Everything was thought out to smallest details. Useful lectures and great free time activities."

Participant from Estonia