Organized Crime in General Organized crime continues to be focused upon by the Kosovo Police in line with the 20122017 national strategies and action plans that tackle this nefarious issue. Weak internal economic performances as well as external environments continue to affect the conditions within Kosovo regarding organized crime networks. A special focus in this field has been ongoing and progress is continuing. In the last year, the Kosovo Police has concentrated on the fight against organized crime, with specific attention paid to prevention. This attention has been along the lines of intelligence gathering, which has seen a decrease of 11 per cent in investigative crime cases overall. A recent successful joint investigations operation included the use of covert measures and resulted in the dismantling of a criminal network that engaged in the smuggling of fuel, tobacco and other commodities. Progress continues in this field, but it is still to be regarded as a foremost concern, despite a claim by the Kosovo Police that 53 criminal networks were removed. The European Union (EU) report in late 2013 stated that the ability of Kosovo Police intelligence-led policing capacity and strategy needs to be strengthened, with analytical skill being further developed and interagency co-operation strategy reinforced. In May, in an effort to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the police service and with a focus on empowering the Kosovo Police to deliver timely policing intelligence, a new software system was introduced by the European Commission Liaison Office, which resulted in the upgrading of IT infrastructure within the police, particularly through upgrading the Kosovo Police Information System and the Criminal Intelligence System and the training of its staff to use the upgraded systems. From 12-16 May, the Mission delivered advanced training on organized crime investigation tactics and techniques to 14 officers of the Kosovo Police Directorate against Organized Crime. The course provided the participants with presentations on topics such as identification of organized crime groups, special investigation methods and strategies – mainly surveillance, undercover operations and informant handling, risk analysis, long-term investigation cases, seizure and confiscation – and intelligence-led policing. On 22 May, the Mission, in co-operation with Sanofi12, organized a seminar on tackling counterfeit pharmaceutical products, gathering 18 participants from the relevant Kosovo authorities involved in this line of work. This event was a follow-up to the previous Intellectual Property Rights Seminar held in June 2013 and the UNODC Regional Seminar to Combat Fraudulent Medicines held on November 2013. The seminar provided valuable inputs for identification of certain counterfeit pharmaceutical products, explained the current situation in Kosovo with regards to such products and helped in identifying main challenges that Kosovo institutions face in this field. The seminar was concluded with findings and recommendations for future steps that need to be taken to successfully tackle this negative phenomenon, which poses real hazards to public health in Kosovo and can also produce other negative effects, such as providing an area of increased interest for organized crime networks. On 29 May, the Mission organized a workshop for the first annual review of the Strategy and Action Plan on Intelligence-Led Policing 2013-2017. The goal of the workshop was to assess the practical implementation of the objectives, parameters and actions foreseen in the action plan during 2013-2014, as well as to prepare a report with recommendations for further actions. Along the representatives of the Mission, senior officers of relevant Kosovo Police structures and the members of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) and International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP), foreseen as 12 Sanofi is a French private pharmaceutical company. 61