UAE Turns To AI And Global Partnerships To Tackle Cross-Border Drug Trafficking

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Criminal networks are constantly changing routes, exploiting gaps between countries and using technology to stay ahead of law enforcement, prompting authorities to turn to artificial intelligence, intelligence-sharing and stronger international partnerships to disrupt drug trafficking.

The issue was highlighted during a session titled“Strengthening international judicial cooperation: The UAE experience and global partnerships” at the 15th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

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Sheikh Zayed bin Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, Chairman of the UAE National Drug Enforcement Authority, stressed the importance of international cooperation in protecting societies and strengthening efforts to combat transnational crime.

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Belgium's Minister of Justice Annelies Verlinden said her country had recorded 69 shootings in the Brussels-Capital Region by August this year, leaving two people dead and 28 injured, as drug-related violence continues to challenge authorities.

She said organised crime networks were increasingly using extreme violence and called for a multidisciplinary response involving governments, police, justice, health and social services.

Criminal networks target ports

Verlinden said criminal networks can exploit ports, airports, post offices and courier services, making security and integrity across the logistics chain critical.

Belgium has introduced measures to prevent criminal networks from infiltrating infrastructure and logistics, including checks for personnel working in critical maritime functions, she said.

The country has also strengthened penalties for recruiting or exploiting minors for criminal purposes and illicit arms dealing while introducing measures targeting the financial proceeds of organised crime.

“Crime should not pay,” Verlinden said, highlighting Belgium's move towards forms of confiscation that can be carried out without a criminal conviction in certain circumstances.

She also stressed that international cooperation was essential because criminal groups quickly shift routes when enforcement disrupts their operations.

“Criminal networks are constantly adapting,” she said, adding that authorities need to share information, best practices and practical solutions to keep pace.

French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said organised crime and drug trafficking increasingly operate across borders, exploiting differences between legal systems and delays in enforcement.

He said France had made the fight against drug trafficking a national security priority, with authorities focusing on three areas: targeting criminal profits, strengthening border controls and coordinating enforcement agencies.

Darmanin said French authorities had seized 85 tonnes of cocaine in 2025, with 68 per cent of those seizures carried out by the French navy.

He said authorities had already seized 15 tonnes by July 1 this year, including 14 tonnes at the port of Le Havre.

France is also focusing on disrupting criminal finances. Darmanin said a dedicated national anti-organised crime prosecutor's office was established under legislation passed in 2025, while France confiscated €212 million in assets last year.

He said authorities must also prevent traffickers from continuing to operate from prison by cutting their communication networks.

“No state will win alone,” Darmanin said, calling for stronger international cooperation against criminal organisations.

UAE explores AI to detect criminal patterns

The panel also discussed the role of technology in fighting drug trafficking through digital transformation.

Dr Abdullah Alkhayat, a consultant to the UAE National Drug Enforcement Authority, said the UAE was using data and AI to identify patterns in drug trafficking and transnational crime.

He said authorities were working to analyse databases and historical case information across the UAE's drug enforcement and transnational crime sectors, while coordinating with international systems and partner agencies.

The aim is to use AI to identify emerging criminal patterns and help authorities determine potential areas of risk during inspections and monitoring operations at ports, airports and other entry points.

The UAE had previously relied on combining different technologies with human analysis, he said, but is now looking to expand the use of AI as part of its national drug enforcement strategy.

The discussion also underlined that technology cannot replace people on the ground.

Francesca Zinier, head of the Port Control Unit at Ghana's Tema Port, said officers remain essential to collecting intelligence, profiling vessels and containers, identifying high-risk shipments and conducting searches.

She described how Ghanaian authorities use a joint approach involving customs, the navy, marine police, fisheries and maritime authorities.

In one operation, officers investigating two fishing vessels found a crystalline substance that tested positive for methamphetamine. The vessels then had to be towed to port before several agencies could conduct a wider search.

The case, she said, demonstrated why technology must be combined with cooperation between agencies.

'Proximity cannot equal culpability'

Nicholas J. McDermott-Tabor, Director of US Regulatory Affairs at the World Shipping Council, highlighted another challenge facing the maritime sector: criminal networks can threaten seafarers and port workers or exploit them to facilitate smuggling.

He stressed that seafarers should not automatically be considered responsible simply because they work near containers containing illegal goods.

“Proximity cannot equal culpability,” he said, calling for due process and systems that can distinguish innocent seafarers from those knowingly involved in smuggling.

He also pointed to the economic cost of detained vessels and containers, noting that goods held up by investigations can disrupt supply chains and affect economies.

At the same time, he said shipping companies were investing millions of dollars in security personnel and targeting systems.

Among the technologies being used are smart containers equipped with sensors that can detect events such as doors opening, route deviations and changes in temperature.

He also highlighted AI-based targeting tools that analyse large volumes of shipping data to identify high-risk cargo for further action.

But, like the other speakers, he stressed that technology is only effective when trained people can interpret the information and act on it.

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