Belgrade. They were again delivered by six OSCE-certified trainers from the MoI. The objective of the courses was to strengthen the capacities of the traffic police to detect and distinguish drugs, to recognise signs and effects of their abuse, as well as to gain knowledge on legal regulations in this area. On 24 June, the Mission visited the MoI Training Center in Mitrovo Polje, which was being adapted to serve as a training site for detecting, investigating and raiding clandestine illicit drugs laboratories in a professional and safe manner. The Mission supported the refurbishment of the Training Center by donating office and classroom furniture and equipment, which it did not use anymore following the move of the Mission HQ in 2013. Moreover, the Mission facilitated the printing of a Students’ Workbook for the training as well as the Special Protocol for Police Officers in Handling Clandestine Laboratories which would be distributed during the training course. On 25 November, the Mission delivered training aids and other training material to the MoI to further support the establishment of the training centre. The MoI’s long term objective was to establish this Training Center not only as a national but as an international training centre. The approach of using seized equipment from clandestine laboratories for training police officers in simulated laboratories, including covert passages, to replicate drug laboratories, albeit in a safe and secure training environment, was unique and was expected to be included in EUROPOL’s catalogue of clandestine lab equipment. Countries from the region already expressed their interest in attending this training. EUROPOL experts also visited the centre and identified its high potential for becoming an international training venue. Based on its successful co-operation with EUROPOL, the Mission intended to support the delivery of future training once the training site was fully operational. Environmental Crime From 3-5 April, the Mission, in partnership with the MoI, organized three specialized training courses for representatives of the police service on how to investigate crimes more effectively that present a risk to environmental security. The training took place in Nis, Kragujevac and Pancevo and gathered 75 inspectors from 18 police districts in Serbia. It consisted of interactive presentations by criminal investigators from Austria and Sweden and national experts on best practices in prosecuting environmental crimes in Serbia through the enforcement of EU legislation. The training aimed to increase the knowledge and skills of representatives of the MoI to enforce environmental law and prevent acts that degrade the environment. The Mission received an overwhelmingly positive reaction from participants, who noted that this was the first time they received a comprehensive training on environmental legislation and its implementation. Vehicle Crime From 26-28 November, the Mission supported one representative of the MoI’s INTERPOL National Bureau to participate at the “First Global INTERPOL Conference on Vehicle Crime”, in Lyon, France. The aim of the conference was to draw attention to the phenomena of car theft and illegal auto trade, discuss methods and ideas on prevention mechanisms available to the international police community, together with other agencies and non-law enforcement entities concerned. Vehicle crime in Serbia has been one of the fundamental activities of organized crime as it provides sources to finance for other illegal activities, such as drug and arms trafficking, trafficking in human beings and terrorism. 97