3017/2025/WEB 'Tracing of illicit firearms and ammunition'

The aim of this webinar is to raise awareness among EU Member States, Western Balkans, Ukraine, and Moldova of the benefits of tracing of illicit firearms and ammunition, by presenting the prerequisites of its efficient and successful implementation, as well as the available databases and tracing tools.

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to: 

• Explain the current context of the fight against firearms trafficking, and its basic investigation tool: traceability.
• Describe the benefits of tracing in identifying the origin and potential point of diversion of firearms and ammunition to the illegal market.
• List the prerequisites for effective and successful tracing of illicit firearms and ammunition.
• Describe how the tracing of illicit firearms could lead to the identification of traffickers, the routes they use, and the detection of national and international patterns of firearms and ammunition trafficking.
• Use all tracing tools: iARMS, eTrace, Itrace, SIS, Europol.

EMPACT training activity

Combating new forms of organised crime requires more cooperation between police and gendarmes, customs officers, border guards, judges, and prosecutors. EU institutions, agencies and Member States work together to tackle organised and serious international crime through a permanent and key instrument: the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT).

CEPOL plays a crucial role in the EMPACT mechanism through the provision of specialised training and the identification of training needs within each common security threat. Every year, CEPOL provides a comprehensive training package for each common EU crime priority consisting of onsite, online and exchange training activities.

Check more of CEPOL's EMPACT training activities here.