On Friday 26 June 2026, the Embassy of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta had the honour of hosting, at the Main Hall of St John’s Cavalier, a Workshop on Drug Trafficking Patterns in the Mediterranean, convened to mark the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
The Workshop was co-hosted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Programme Office in Malta, in partnership with the Malta Police Force and the Embassy of the Order of Malta.
It was organised by Mr Shanaka Jayasekara, Head of Office and Programme Coordinator (UN Maritime Sanctions) of the UNODC Programme Office in Malta. An initiative strongly championed by H.E. Prince Augusto Ruffo di Calabria, Ambassador of the Order of Malta to Malta, the event reflected the Order’s enduring humanitarian vocation and its commitment to lending its good offices to causes that protect the dignity, health and safety of communities across the Mediterranean.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is the United Nations agency mandated to assist Member States in their struggle against illicit drugs, organised crime and terrorism. Established in 1997 and headquartered in Vienna, UNODC operates worldwide through a network of field and programme offices, supporting governments with research, technical expertise and international cooperation to confront the global drug problem and transnational crime. Its annual World Drug Report is recognised as a leading source of data and analysis in the field.
The Workshop brought together a distinguished gathering of Maltese authorities, members of the diplomatic corps and experts. Among those present were the Hon. Dr Glenn Bedingfield MP, Minister of Home Affairs and Security; Brigadier Clinton O’Neil, Commander of the Armed Forces of Malta; Commissioner Angelo Gafa, Commissioner of Police; Mr. Neville Aquilina, Director General, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs ; the Ambassadors of Australia, Ireland, Italy, and Spain, Deputy Heads of Mission from France and The Netherlands, together with representative of the Embassy of Japan and the British High Commission; Mr. Benoit Musy, High Representative of the Grand Master to Fort St Angelo and senior figures from the University of Malta, the Malta Police Force and specialised maritime monitoring bodies.
Following welcome remarks by Mr Shanaka Jayasekara, Head of the UNODC Programme Office in Malta, the programme opened with remarks by Commissioner Angelo Gafa, Commissioner of Police, and a keynote address by the Hon. Dr Glenn Bedingfield MP, Minister of Home Affairs and Security. Three presentations followed, offering complementary international and local perspectives: by Ms Monika Roszkowska on behalf of UNODC, drawing on the World Drug Report 2026; by Assistant Commissioner Keith Arnaud of the Malta Police Drugs Squad; and by Professor Janice Formosa Pace, Head of the Department of Criminology of the University of Malta. The proceedings concluded with a lively panel discussion on the trafficking patterns affecting Malta, moderated by Deputy Commissioner Sandro Gatt.
On behalf of the Ambassador, Dr Kevin Dingli, Knight of Magistral Grace in Obedience and Representative of the Ambassador, delivered the closing Vote of Thanks. He conveyed the Ambassador’s pleasure in welcoming the participants and supporting the initiative, and reaffirmed the Embassy’s readiness to continue lending its support to the work of UNODC and its partners in the years ahead.
