“Given the seriousness of the threat posed by the growth of drug trafficking, the current system, despite the efforts made, remains inadequate.” The Court of Auditors published, on Tuesday, November 26, a report dedicated to the services involved in the fight against drug trafficking, first of all the anti-narcotics office (Ofast) of the national police. And the observation written by the Cambon Street institution is intended to be contradictory. Despite the rise in power of this office, the response to drug trafficking lacks organization and resources.
Unlike its predecessor, the Central Office for the Suppression of Illicit Drug Trafficking, which was only a judicial police service among others, Ofast was created in 2020 to become a leader in the fight against drug trafficking. And thus put a bit of order among the multitude of services involved, among which sometimes a harmful rivalry has reigned: customs, gendarmerie, intelligence, penitentiary services, etc.
“All the actors agree on their roles”the speakers point out. The office also assumes the role of“privileged international interlocutor”in collaboration with foreign services as well as with European or international agencies. “The cooperation work carried out by both the intelligence center agents and the group in charge of international cooperation is proving effective”underlines the report.
To take on these various positions, the office has seen its staff and budget grow. In 2023 it had 678 agents and a budget of 55 million euros, compared to 318 agents and 36 million euros in 2020. “This operational boost has translated into an increase in judicial activity”points out the Court of Auditors. In 2022, Ofast participated in 1,500 court proceedings, up from less than 500 in 2020.
There are not enough specialized researchers
But this dynamic suffers from certain obstacles. Attached to the national directorate of the judicial police, Ofast does not manage its budget itself and lacks information on all its material and human resources, the speakers regret. In terms of organization, the Court of Auditors regrets “genuine tension” between the information collected by Ofast’s fifteen branches and nine detachments, and its central office. “The central Ofast prioritizes investigations of international scope and leaves the processing of local cases to its territorial network (…) without sharing information (…) It’s still really formalized. »
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