UNODC: first replication of training on handheld electronic field testing devices for drug identification held in West Africa

Under the framework of the projects CRIMJUST and “Response to Drugs and Related Organized Crime in Nigeria”, UNODC conducted, on 12 July 2018, the first replication workshop on “Drug identification with handheld electronic field testing devices” in Lagos, Nigeria. It was the first training in West Africa to introduce the use of the testing devices,…

UNODC and CRIMJUST strengthen Digital Evidence Capabilities through a specialised course in Panama

CRIMJUST and the UNODC Global Programme on Cybercrime launched a Training Workshop on Cybercrime to improve the participants’ technical skills on digital evidence gathering and ensure an effective response to challenges arising from drug trafficking. The course took place in Panama from 25 to 26 June 2018. Twenty-six participants, officers from the Public Prosecution Office…

Cocaine production hits absolute record highs according to the latest UNODC World Drug Report

  The 2018 World Drug Report, launched on 26 June by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), provides a global overview of the supply and demand of opiates, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamine-type stimulants and new psychoactive substances (NPS), as well as their impact on health. Moreover, it highlights the different drug use patterns…

Cocaine reached highest purity in a decade according to the latest European Drug Report

The European Drug Report 2018: Trends and Developments launched on 7 June in Brussels by Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos and the Director of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Alexis Goosdeel, offers a comprehensive view of the latest drug trends across Europe. • Cocaine: increased availability…

Women and Girls at the core of the 12th edition of the European Development Days

The twelfth edition of the European Development Days was held in Brussels on 5 and 6 June 2018 and aimed to bring together the European Union’s commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The main thread of this edition, ‘Women and Girls at the Forefront of Sustainable Development:…

Growing threats posed by new and established substances highlighted by latest European Drug Report

Availability of cocaine may be rising again in parts of Europe according to the European Drug Report 2017: Trends and Developments, launched on 6 June by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). In addition, the EU drugs agency annual overview highlights the increasing number of drug overdose deaths in Europe, the continued availability of new psychoactive substances and the growing health threat of highly potent synthetic opioids.