New Initiative to Address Precursor Trafficking

Following the recommendations of the Working Meeting to Coordinate Efforts in Combating Transnational Drug Related Crime held in Kazakhstan in February 2012 and in line with the findings of the Operation TARCET III Debrief held in China in November 2011 and the Paris Pact Expert Working Group on Precursors held in November 2011, a Meeting of the Working Group on precursors was conducted in Tashkent in May. The meeting was organised in the framework of the Regional Programme for Afghanistan and Neighbouring Countries and was attended by representatives from 14 countries and  international organisations.

During the meeting participants reviewed, inter alia, the results and short-comings of Operation TARCET, which is now concluded; strengths of other precursor control initiatives; intelligence handling procedures and mechanisms; as well as prospects of developing intelligence-led operations.

The new initiatives to address illicit precursors will have an extended geographical scope, involving more countries targeted by criminal organizations for precursor diversion and trafficking. Future operations will also target precursors used in the manufacturing of synthetic drugs, as these are posing an increasing threat to the region.