From today until June 19, 500 delegates from 129 countries will discuss the topic and within seven regional working groups (South America, Caribbean, North / Central America, South / Central Asia, Europe, Africa, South East Asiatic), will tackle the problems of laundering the immense proceeds of drug trafficking.
The International Drug Enforcement Conference was founded in 1983 on the initiative of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) at a regional level and subsequently extended to a global level. Italy has been a member since 2003.
The conference, organized by the Central Directorate for Drug Services (DCSA) of the Ministry of the Interior, with the patronage of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), aims to coordinate anti-drug policies, share related information and develop an operational strategy aimed at combating illicit drug trafficking.
The proceedings are chaired by the central director for anti-drug services, the general of the financial police Andrea De Gennaro, together with the director of the DEA, Mrs. Michele M. Leonhart.
The press conference on the opening day had as speakers the general of the finance police Andrea De Gennaro, the interior minister Angelino Alfano, the head of the state police Alessandro Pansa and James L. Capra, an officer of DEA operations.
All declared themselves opposed to the legalization of drugs and "it is necessary - as Minister Alfano pointed out - to fight cybercrime as much as possible, because in cyber-crime there is drugs!".
General De Gennaro then explained that "for about two years, within the Central Directorate of the Anti-Drug Service, an articulation called the drug-online section has been active, which includes personnel trained by the telecommunications police, which constantly monitors, and then report to the investigative departments and police forces when shipments are identified. On this aspect, the implementation of a project, funded by the European Community, is also underway, which includes, in addition to the police forces, also the participation of the agency customs, and it is a project that is already giving interesting operational results ".
Afterwards, in the hall where the delegations were present, there was an intervention by Don Luigi Ciotti, president of the Abele non-profit group. In the next few days, among the other speakers, Kathleen Doherty, Deputy Ambassador of the United States of America at the Italian republic and the republic of San Marino, dr. Franco Roberti, national anti-mafia prosecutor, Don Luigi Ciotti, president of the Abele Onlus Group and Mr. Wil van Gemert, deputy operational director of EUROPOL.
The event will close on the 19th day by the intervention of senator Pietro Grasso, president of the senate of the Italian republic, and on 20 June 2014, the delegates will be received in the Vatican, in private audience, by the supreme pontiff.
Numerous stands with products used in the fight against drug trafficking, from identification testers for drugs, and explosives, used in the forensic field, to equipment used to detect contraband goods.
What is the DCSA
The DCSA, established in 1991, is made up of joint staff, with equal representation from the state police, the carabinieri and the financial police and is governed, with three-year rotation, by a general manager of the state police, by a division general of the carabinieri and a division general of the finance police.
The institutional mission of the Central Directorate for Anti-Drug Services is to coordinate the activities of the police forces to combat drug trafficking. To this end, the DCSA identifies the investigative convergences between the various operations against drug trafficking and promotes investigations into and outside the national territory; develops relations with the corresponding services of the foreign police also present in Italy and with the national and international bodies responsible for preventing the phenomenon; takes care of operational research, analysis and anti-drug training; manages the network of drug experts in the areas of production or transit of drugs.
Monica Palermo
