OSCE trains Afghan law enforcement officers on counter-narcotics investigation

ANKARA, 13 May 2011 – An OSCE-supported training programme for 11 Afghan law-enforcement officers on investigation techniques to combat drug smuggling concluded in Ankara today.

The two-week programme organized by the OSCE’s Strategic Policing Matters Unit and implemented by the Turkish International Academy against Drugs and Organized Crime (TADOC) aimed to provide the participants with the necessary knowledge and skills to combat drug trafficking in an effective and ethical manner.

The capacity-building course was delivered by experts from Turkish National Police. It covered topics related to drug identification and trafficking trends, clandestine laboratories and control of precursors, operations planning and management, information sources handling and crime intelligence analysis, undercover and controlled delivery operations, seizure of criminal profits and drug demand reduction, as well as investigative interviews and the economic aspects of drug trafficking.

“OSCE recognizes the importance of training to assist Afghanistan’s law enforcement in developing their counter-narcotic operations,” said OSCE Senior Police Adviser Knut Dreyer. “This training project has contributed to international efforts to improve the capacity of the Afghan National Police, and we will continue to co-operate with training institutions such as TADOC to provide high-level assistance to our Afghan partners.”

Ismail Öztürk, the Director of TADOC, said: “The course was a good example of multilateral co-operation in raising the professionalism of experts from the Afghan National Police. Our trainers were impressed with the dedication and commitment of the high-ranking Afghan participants, who were very active throughout the seminar”. 

The course is part of the OSCE’s work to assist the Afghan National Police in counter-narcotics training. The activities follow an OSCE decision on intensified engagement with Afghanistan, adopted in 2007, and a pledge by all OSCE participating States to contribute to collective international efforts “to promote a stable, independent, prosperous and democratic Afghanistan” taken at the OSCE Summit in December 2010.

The OSCE Strategic Police Matters Unit works to enhance international co-operation in combating organized crime, with a particular focus on illicit drug trafficking. It also assists the Afghan National Police in counter-narcotics training.