Certain issues of forensic support for combating illegal drug trafficking

Important and topical issues of combating illegal drug trafficking by the forces and means of law enforcement agencies are considered. The transformation of the problem of combating drug trafficking into an international one poses new tasks for the Security Service and the National Police of Ukraine, which are fighting crime. The variety of synthetic drugs and the development of new, previously unknown analogues allow criminals to quickly adapt to the needs of the «black» market. Specialist chemists receive new types of synthetic substances that are not included in the current national lists of prohibited and controlled drugs at the time of their development. This allows criminals, ahead of science and legislative practice, to avoid control by the state and its law enforcement agencies. The science of forensics helps to fulfill the tasks of combating crime. The following elements of forensic analysis should be considered characteristic of crimes in the field of drug trafficking: information about the subject of the offense, the identity of the criminal and his place and role in the structure of the criminal group; typical methods of preparing, committing, hiding traces of the crime, typical tools and information about the circumstances of preparing and committing the crime; data on characteristic traces and consequences. The features of traces of crimes in the field of drug trafficking are due to the commission of actions with drugs and obtaining profits, which is associated with the use of various drug raw materials, semi-finished products, chemicals, reagents, special laboratory equipment, containers for transporting and storing drugs or precursors, special literature and various technical means and devices, and in many cases also certain skills and special knowledge that the perpetrators must possess. The authors emphasize that the success of the entire case depends on the skillful organization of operational and investigative work at the initial stage of identifying signs of illegal drug trafficking. An important place in this is given to the timely and correct use of the special knowledge of knowledgeable persons – specialists and experts. The ability of investigators and operational workers to correctly determine the type of substances that have signs of narcotics, to collect samples for their examination, to ensure their preservation and to timely appoint an expert examination determine both the correctness and reliability of the conclusions of the forensic examination, and ultimately - the success of the investigation.