The contribution of law enforcement coordination and cooperation to the EU Drugs Strategy

Transcription

1 The contribution of law enforcement coordination and cooperation to the EU Drugs Strategy Jari Liukku Head of Serious and Organised Crime Department Operations Directorate Europol LIBE mini-hearing Evaluating drug policies and state of play in the EU legislation September 25, 2017 Europol Unclassified Basic Protection level

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. CRIMINAL MARKETS (SOCTA 2017) 2. ASSESSMENT ON DRUG INVESTIGATIONS 3. ACCESS TO OPERATIONAL INTELLIGENCE 4. ASSET TRACING AND CONFISCATION 5. ON-LINE TRADE IN DRUGS 6. DATA RETENTION 7. WAY FORWARD

3 1. CRIMINAL MARKETS (SOCTA 2017) Key criminal activities of the OCGs Drug related cases supported by ESSOC Europol (2Q Y2016) (355 Y2016) (2Q Y 2017) 12% 7% SIENA messages Y % of overall intelligence flow at EUROPOL - 19% increase (Y2015 Y2016) 35% 10% *Source of data: SOCTA 2017

4 2. ASSESSMENT ON DRUG INVESTIGATIONS Mid-term assessment of the EU Drugs Strategy concludes that law enforcement does not have strong impact on the problem; SOCTA 2017 concludes that the illicit drug supply remains the largest criminal markets in the EU and more than 1/3 of the identified criminal groups in the EU are involved in the drug crimes (+/ groups); Europol assessment (2016 Does crime still pay?) in 2016 concludes that less than 2% of criminal assets are being seized in the EU MS; Synthetic drugs constitute an increasing threat to public health; On-line trade of drugs is increasing; Drug supply together with purity is increasing, drugs remain the biggest criminal market in the EU.

5 2. ASSESSMENT ON DRUG INVESTIGATIONS Objective and way forward The Executive Director (ED) of Europol tasked the ESOCC to conduct an internal assessment to evaluate how the strategic and operational approach on drug supply reduction could be significantly improved; The internal assessment and its recommendations approved by the ED and the the following measures were decided A program ensuring the implementation of the recommendations is drafted; A Program Board consisting of the representatives of the EU MS and other relevant partners will be established to ensure fine-tuning, monitoring and implementation of the recommendations; The impact of the criminal procedure on drug supply will be enhanced by implementing joint and common measures in cooperation between the EU MS and other relevant partners with the support of Europol.

6 3. ACCESS TO OPERATIONAL INTELLIGENCE FROM OUTSIDE EU The Europol Regulation (Article 23.6) gives the agency the opportunity to transfer personal data and other operational information with Third Countries under some specific conditions. Data transfer to Third Partners will be possible if one of the following conditions is met: Adequacy decision (art. 25.1a) International agreement concluded by the EU (art. 25.1b) Cooperation agreement allowing for the exchange of personal data concluded before 1 May 2017 (art.25.1c). Exceptional transfer on the case-by-case basis (art. 25.5) The above is not applicable to any of the countries of operational interest for drug supply reduction (e.g. Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, China, India, Brazil, Tunisia, UAE, Libya, Peru, Bolivia, Pakistan, etc.). Europol non-paper on challenges concerning information exchange in respect of migrant smuggling affecting EU from Libya and its neighbouring countries Lacking access to operational intelligence from EU civilian and military missions (e.g. EU LO, MS LO, Combined maritime force)

7 4. ASSET TRACING AND CONFISCATION The law enforcement understanding of financial flows associated with the wholesale trafficking and distribution of drugs is insufficiently developed and represents an intelligence gap. Investigations targeting wholesale trafficking and distribution networks should automatically involve complementary (simultaneous) financial investigations carried out by FIUs and/or AROs. EU legislation on freezing and confiscation of proceeds of crime In April 2014, the Directive 2014/42/EU on the freezing and confiscation of the instrumentalities and proceeds of crime was adopted, with a deadline for transposition by Member States of October The project (by Eurojust 2014) found a very limited use in drug trafficking cases of freezing and confiscation orders based on Council Framework Decision 2006/783/JHA of 6 October 2006 and Council Framework Decision 2003/577/JHA of 22 July 2003 (currently under review).

8 5. ON-LINE TRADE IN DRUGS Production in the EU, intra-eu trafficking and marketing of drugs via internet is a growing global phenomenon. It is related to both anonymous (Dark Net and other similar platforms) and open web. The use of parcel post services among criminals is increasing. The growing volume of e-commerce makes it difficult to detect drugs which are sent among the legal products. It is recommended to initiate together with European Commission a process which would result in an assessment with concrete proposals concerning legal framework which would ensure that: Postal service providers shall bear the risk which is based on the increasing demand of their services by being obligated to maintain procedures and technologies with which drug and other illegal parcels could be detected; Postal service providers shall be obligated to report detected illegal parcels to relevant law enforcement authorities.

9 6. TELECOMMUNICATIONS DATA RETENTION The overturning of the Data Retention Directive by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in its ruling of 8 April 2014 in Digital Rights Ireland has created a scattered legal landscape for law enforcement and prosecutors to obtain relevant telecommunication data from service providers. In some MS, there is currently still legislation in place to ensure that telecommunication companies retain such data for law enforcement purposes, whereas in others, the national legislation has been annulled in the wake of the ECJ judgement. It is recommended to initiate together with European Commission a process which would result in an assessment with concrete proposals concerning legal framework which would ensure that: Telecommunication data is available for the investigation of serious and organised crime; Service providers shall be obligated to retain telecommunication data for criminal procedures on serious and organised crime.

10 7. THE WAY FORWARD implementation of EU Drugs strategy EU Action plan on drugs ( ) supply reduction, coordination and international cooperation EU Policy cycle To (1) disrupt the activities of Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) involved in the wholesale trafficking of cannabis, cocaine and heroin to the EU, To (2) tackle the criminal networks involved in the trafficking and distribution of multiple types of drugs on EU markets, To (3) reduce the production of synthetic drugs and New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) in the EU and to dismantle OCGs involved in their production, trafficking and distribution. To 8) disrupt OCGs involved in environmental crime, more particularly wildlife and illicit waste trafficking. Recommendations of the assessment Toward a Bold Europol Response to Drugs in Europe in cooperation with EU MS and Europol

11 Thank you! More information on drugs and organized crime - Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment (2017) - EU Drug market report (2016 jointly with the EMCDDA)