To bolster the fight against organised crime and drug trafficking, in June 2024, the Justice and Home Affairs Council approved the establishment of the European Judicial Organised Crime Network (EJOCN). The EJOCN is a hub of specialised expertise that supports direct dialogue between judicial authorities to address legal and practical problems. It also facilitates the exchange of best practices, knowledge and experience in the investigation and prosecution of organised crime.

Eurojust has been entrusted with hosting and supporting the new judicial network, whose mandate is to address all judicial aspects of the fight against organised crime. Over the past 20 years, Eurojust has built up a solid track record in providing operational, technical, logistical and financial support to national prosecutors in the fight against organised crime. The work of the EJOCN will benefit from Eurojust’s unique operational expertise in setting up JITs and using other judicial cooperation tools in cross-border criminal investigations. In September 2024, the Agency organised the EJOCN’s launch, bringing together prosecutors from all Member States, Europol, the European Union Drugs Agency, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and the European Commission to discuss the scope, vision and practical functioning of the network. 

The main objectives of the EJOCN are to facilitate increased information exchange and cooperation between competent judicial authorities dealing with organised crime. This includes addressing the structural, poly-criminal and leadership aspects of organised crime. The EJOCN aims to provide added value to judicial practitioners in the Member States by helping to improve strategic and operational results in this area. The network will operate on a flexible and continuous basis, with the full support of Eurojust, in order to respond quickly to the changing activities and modus operandi of organised crime groups.

From a strategic perspective, the EJOCN will facilitate networking and capacity building among practitioners across Europe, enabling them to discuss legal challenges, relevant case law, trends, best practices and effective judicial cooperation with jurisdictions outside the EU. It will also share critical information with judicial practitioners and maintain cooperation with key stakeholders to develop more effective cross-border prosecution strategies between Member States and third countries. 

For analytical purposes, the EJOCN will prepare reports based on practitioners’ experience and insights. These reports will identify legal and practical issues, including those arising from the implementation of EU legislative instruments and the implications of a diversified legal framework across and beyond Europe. They will suggest priorities for judicial follow-up and proposals on how to address various challenges. The network will also map trends and modus operandi of OCGs and prepare tools to support practitioners in their fight against organised crime.

At the operational level, the EJOCN will facilitate continuous communication and exchange of non-personal information of operational value between the network’s members. These operational exchanges will be useful for the early identification of parallel investigations or for initiating such investigations in all Member States where a criminal network operates. Where appropriate, the EJOCN will assist in identifying immediate counterparts and contacts in each country to facilitate the exchange of information, support the initiation of parallel investigations and cooperation, and identify opportunities to set up JITs at Eurojust. The EJOCN will also help to ensure timely judicial follow-up of the most threatening criminal networks, including by identifying priorities for investigations and prosecutions. 

EJOCN’s first priority is combating drug-related organised crime connected to European ports, as these are key transit points for cocaine and other narcotics destined for the EU (see also section 3.6). The initial focus on drug trafficking responds to the growing threats in this area, the associated poly-criminality of criminal gangs and the increased recruitment of young people in drug smuggling activities. Drug trafficking has been identified as a leading criminal activity of OCGs in Europe, with 50% of criminal networks involved in drug trafficking[1]. The availability of illicit drugs continues to increase, as does the violence associated with this crime, making drug trafficking one of the most dangerous and lucrative criminal activities. Successfully tackling the rise in drug trafficking requires close cooperation with judicial authorities in Latin America, from where narcotics are often smuggled into Europe (see section 2.2).

[1] https://www.europol.europa.eu/publication-events/main-reports/decoding-eus-most-threatening-criminal-networks