On 13-14 April 2022, the Secretariat of the Pompidou Group hosted its 9th annual meeting of the expert group on ‘Drugs Online’ at the Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg.

Close and effective cooperation with international bodies, the private sector, judiciary, and law enforcement in tackling the marketing and distribution of 'drugs online' is an ever-growing need. The multidisciplinary structure and professional cooperation with all partners is a key element to the success of this cooperation format. The focus this year was on online drug trafficking trends and modus operandi, tools for law enforcement cooperation, encryption technologies, instant messaging applications and case studies.

The meeting brought together 36 experts from 18 different countries and 5 international organisations. For the first time, Trinidad and Tobago participated as observer in meeting.