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YEREVAN, July 6 (Itar-Tass) — The 10th meeting of the Coordination Council of the heads of anti-drug agencies of CSTO member states will examine here pressing issues of struggle against illicit drug trafficking. The meeting will be attended by the organisation’s secretary-general Nikolai Bordyuzha.
The chairman of the Coordination Council and director of the Russian Federal Service of control over drug trafficking Viktor Ivanov will deliver a report on the results of the local anti-drug operation “Canal-West”.
The forum’s agenda includes questions of struggle against trans-national drug crime and possible use of special forces, incorporated in the CSTO Collective Rapid Response Forces, in anti-narcotic measures. The Council will examine preparing a collection of normative-legal acts of CSTO member states in control over drug trafficking.
“Drug trafficking remains now a very acute problem for CSTO member countries,” said Bordyuzha. “Illicit trade in these preparations undermines foundations of national security of each individual state and foundations of international stability as a whole.”
“Trans-national drug crime is increasingly joins efforts with terrorist and extremist structures,” the CSTO secretary-general stated. According to Bordyuzha, under these circumstances, the Coordination Council should step up, in future too, efforts of law enforcement bodies of CSTO member states to counter illicit drug trafficking and to fight trans-border drug business.
In compliance with the decision of the CSTO Council of Collective Security of September 5, 2008, the comprehensive “Canal” preventive measure was granted the status of a permanently functioning regional anti-drug operation.
Representatives of the Euro-Asian Group on countering legalisation of criminal incomes and funding of terrorism, the Council of the heads of CIS Customs Services, the Council of Commanders of CIS Borderguard Troops, bodies of Russian executive power, observers from Europol as well as anti-drug agencies of several countries participate in the work of its International Coordination Headquarters.
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