On 25 May 2021, the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) and UNODC’s Global Firearms Programme co-organized a webinar on investigating firearms trafficking in Dark Web. The event was attended by twenty five criminal justice practitioners from Moldova and Ukraine. The objective of the webinar was to present methods for conducting firearms investigations and share information about challenges and successful cases. The event was conducted with the support of two police officers from the Spanish National Police and five experts from UNODC’s Global Programme on Cybercrime and Global Firearms Programme.
In the first session, UNODC presented information on Darkweb, with a focus on Ukraine and Moldova, and demonstrated in real time several Darknet marketplaces offering a variety of firearms for sale. UNODC shared information on the types of firearms, the features of the marketplaces including the payment methodologies used. UNODC also outlined the methods for searching the Dark Web, linking Dark Web with Clear Web information, best practises for profiling, and the technical requirements necessary for successful implementation of the investigations.
The second session was dedicated to the analysis of operations and court cases linked to firearms in Dark Web. The Spanish National Police presented the results from two operations and identified the methods used in the investigations, the challenges they have faced, and the results achieved. The Spanish experts also shared information about the techniques used for undercover operations and controlled delivery. The distribution of plans for 3D printed weapons and the regulation of the manufacturing of 3D printed weapons was identified as a specific challenge.
UNODC analysed a court decision linked to the terrorist attack in Germany in 2016. The weapon, with which the attack was conducted, was obtained in Dark Web. UNODC briefed on the methods applied by the investigators to identify the seller of the firearms, the process of collection of evidence, which has led to a successful arrest of the seller. UNODC presented the prosecutorial strategy, which resulted in successful prosecution of both the seller of the weapon and the administrator of the marketplace in Dark Web.
UNODC presented the criminal procedural law, applicable in Ukraine for firearms investigations in Dark Web. UNODC provided information about the special investigative measures that can be used under Ukrainian law for conducting investigations and analysed in which cases the evidence collected through their use will be considered admissible. UNODC also presented its research on Ukrainian case law on trafficking of firearms in postal and fast parcels, and shared selected information from its analysis of thirty-five cases.
The support for the implementation of this activity was provided by EUBAM and the Government of Germany.
