Law Journal of the National Academy of Internal Affairs

The accessibility of drugs is one of the main reasons why this substance, namely, "synthetic", acquires distribution. The facts of contemporary life indicate that the large-scale distribution of drugs is carried out through the Internet, anyone (regardless of age) can buy narcotic substances via this channel since there is a complete confidentiality of people concerned from both sides. Another important factor is that synthetic drugs formally have a legal nature, because the Law does not prohibit them, since a lengthy legislative process needs to be completed in order to prohibit any new psychotropic substance. Finally, when it comes to prohibition, the new alternatives have already emerged at the market, causing a lot of problems. For example, Chief Physician of Department for Drug Addiction Treatment at one of the hospitals in Munich warns that synthetic drugs used nowadays have a much stronger effect than those that were known before. "The peculiarity is that the experience of using new substances is imperfect, therefore, overdosing often occurs", the physician explains. Such drugs usage results in confused insanity, vital dysfunctions, and sometimes even fatal cases. This article tackles the aspects of preparation for and conduct of search in proceedings related to illegal drugs trafficking and psychotropic substances; also, it reviews which substances are of interest for Operations Department, where such substances can be found, and their effect on conducting this investigative (search) procedure. The main purpose of the search is to find and withdraw all the objects and items that are being illegally trafficked. In this category of proceedings, the following items are usually found and withdrawn: drugs; objects and devices for their storage, manufacturing, and processing with traces of drugs (kitchenware, packaging, etc.); money, values, and objects acquired illegally; counterfeited medical prescriptions, various bills and receipts related to the case; phones, credit cards, etc. This list is not exhaustive, as diverse tangible objects can be found during the search. Also, this article states that it is necessary to carefully prepare for the search, because it is well-known that those persons, who deal with the sale of drugs, store the main party outside the place of their residence. Suddenness is the main attribute in arresting the drugrelated criminals; otherwise, there is a high probability that a certain person suspected of committing a crime and the group such person was a part of will decide to cover the traces of crime. As of today, the situation related to drugs is adverse. It is explained by several factors, for example: absence of a clear system for detecting the drug users (not taking into account those persons who are under the apparent influence of drugs); high demand for drugs from diverse social groups of people; insufficient control by Law enforcement bodies of mass drug distribution over the Internet and diminishment of preventive work. In addition, it should always be remembered that it is not a problem to buy the drugs; instead, it is necessary to focus and work diligently in the field of crime prevention.