Police conference focuses on beating terrorism

INTERNATIONAL police forces will come together in Dublin this weekend in a bid to step up the fight against drug trafficking and money laundering by terrorists.

The conference, hosted by the gardaí, includes police experts from other European Union members states, Russia, Hungary, the US and Canada. They will be joined by representatives from the European Commission and Europol, the EU police service.

Specialist garda units, including the Garda National Drugs Unit, the Criminal Assets Bureau, the Special Detective Unit and the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation, will take part.

The theme of the four-day conference is “An intelligence-led approach to targeting and disrupting the use of drug trafficking and money laundering as a means of funding terrorism”.

The conference, held at the Grand Hotel, Malahide, Co Dublin, is organised under the EU Budget Line programme and is jointly funded by the Department of Justice and the EU.

Garda sources say that international co-operation is crucial in targeting drug trafficking and money laundering by terrorists.

With much of the drugs bound for Ireland coming from countries such as Britain and Spain, gardaí depend on a good working relationship and sharing of intelligence with colleagues.

Conferences such as this one are crucial for establishing networks for the sharing of information.