Capacity to Disrupt Criminal Networks Globally
October 2025 — The final training on financial investigations linked to drug trafficking under the CRIMJUST III project has officially concluded, marking the end of a series of eight (8) national and regional sessions across Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa delivered by INTERPOL with support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). These sessions were funded by the European Union (EU) through the Global Illicit Flows Programme (GIFP).
Recognizing the critical role of financial investigations in dismantling organized crime and corruption, INTERPOL developed specialized trainings to strengthen the ability of criminal justice practitioners and law enforcement officers to detect and confiscate criminal assets, prevent money laundering, and follow illicit financial flows to identify and prosecute high-level criminals.
This final training was held from 21 to 23 October 2025 in Cotonou, Benin, bringing together 21 professionals from law enforcement, customs, financial intelligence, and justice institutions. Led by experts from INTERPOL’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre (IFCACC), the sessions focused on practical techniques to trace illicit financial flows and disrupt drug-related criminal networks.
The UN Resident Coordinator Office in Benin praised the initiative as a timely and impactful contribution to national efforts against organized crime, commending INTERPOL’s technical leadership and the collaborative approach of the training. The EU Delegation in Benin reaffirmed its support, stating: “We are proud to work alongside UNODC and INTERPOL to shift from traditional approaches focused on commodity flows to targeted strategies aimed at identifying, disrupting, and dismantling organized criminal groups and high-level actors—particularly through strengthened financial action.”
Since 2024, the programme, through national and regional financial investigations training, has reached 215 investigators, prosecutors, and analysts—38% of them women—from 22 countries, including Barbados, Benin, Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Morocco, Nigeria, Panama, The Gambia, Saint Lucia, Senegal, Togo, and Trinidad and Tobago. These trainings have significantly enhanced participants’ capacity to conduct financial investigations in the context of drug-related crime.
Throughout the sessions, participants deepened their understanding of the strategic value of financial investigations and asset confiscation in transnational drug trafficking cases. They exchanged best practices, explored tools to better exploit financial intelligence, and established operational contacts to support future inter-agency collaboration. The importance of international cooperation was also emphasized, with participants learning to use instruments to strengthen cross-border investigations.
Participants in national trainings particularly praised their effectiveness in fostering stronger inter-agency coordination. As one participant noted, “I am very much pleased with the training organized by CRIMJUST because it brings collaboration among different law enforcement agencies to work together and tackle money laundering linked to drug trafficking and other financial crimes.”
Importantly, the trainings have already shown concrete operational results. In the months following the sessions, several participants reported successfully applying the skills in real investigations. These included expanding drug trafficking cases to incorporate money laundering and corruption, tracing hidden bank accounts, formally charging suspects with financial crimes, and using financial crime strategies to seize high-value assets. Participants also improved their ability to analyze financial data and strengthened their capacity to detect money laundering techniques—such as the use of cryptocurrencies. Enhanced international cooperation was also reported, contributing to more coordinated and effective investigations.
The CRIMJUST III financial investigations training series has not only built technical expertise but also fostered collaboration across borders and institutions, equipping practitioners with the tools and networks needed to disrupt criminal economies.
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CRIMJUST III project seeks to assist beneficiary countries in combating transnational organized crime by enhancing law enforcement and prosecution strategies. The programme aims to go beyond mere seizures and seeks to equip Member States with the necessary tools, training, and expertise to enhance their capacities to optimize their fight against illicit trafficking and organized crime.
Funded by the European Union through the Global Illicit Flows Programme (GIFP), it is implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as part of the Global Programme on Criminal Network Disruption (GPCD) of the Border Management Branch (BMB) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in partnership with INTERPOL.
