Experts from the region gather at 11th SEEFEN Meeting

The 11th Regional Meeting of South-East Europe Firearms Experts Network (SEEFEN) took place in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 14-15 May 2019.

The 11th SEEFEN meeting gathered investigators, prosecutors, customs officials, forensic experts and border police representatives from South East Europe, as well as experts from INTERPOL, EUROPOL, FRONTEX and the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS) to coordinate the fight against serious, organized, and cross-border firearms related crime through a regional approach.

The meeting enabled a discussion on the newest modus operandi of firearms  trafficking , discussion on new trends in the field of risk analysis and risk assessments, an update on cooperation with FRONTEX through the Western Balkans Risk Analysis Network, introduction of investigative strategies focusing on investigators and prosecutors, introduction of best practices for open case files in ballistic laboratories and presentation of cooperation with EMPACT emphasising internet investigations.

SEEFEN was established in 2014 and meets biannually to further enhance the regional approach to combatting firearms trafficking through information exchange and knowledge sharing  amongst experts in the region and beyond.

SEEFEN is supported by the European Union through European Union Council Decision 2016/2356/CFSP. On 19 November 2018, this support was reinforced trough the new European Union Council Decision (CFSP) 2018/1788 adopted in support of the South-Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC) for the implementation of the Regional Roadmap on combating illicit arms trafficking in the Western Balkans.

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