Vestnik KavkazaVestnik Kavkaza
By Vestnik Kavkaza
12 November 2103
After the winter Olympic Games, Sochi will experience another very important international event – the G8 summit where Russia, the chair of G8 this year, wants to raise the issue of global drug traffic.
Yesterday the director of the Federal Service for Drug Control, Viktor Ivanov, spoke about successful international strategic operations in Central America and Afghanistan and stated that “the cocaine outlet market in the EU quadrupled in five years; in the Russian direction we and our colleagues intercepted sixfold volumes of cocaine in comparison with the last year. We see a warning trend how Mexican, Central American drug cartels – from Columbia, Peru, and Bolivia – begin to transfer drugs to Russia and Europe.”
In Afghanistan international forces destroyed two labs and prepared stores of produced drugs: it included 4 tons of morphine, 700 kg of dry opium, and 12 Cwt of selective seeds of opium poppy, which were prepared for sowing. “These seeds would enough to grow almost 7,000 tons of opium; but we managed to prevent the serious strike on the RF because the labs which are situated in the north of Afghanistan are focused on the Russian direction exclusively,” Ivanov stated.
According to him, since 2010 up to date 24 labs were destroyed; it enabled to prevent trafficking of 28 tons of heroin to Russia. It is tenfold bigger than the volume which is usually intercepted by all law-enforcement agencies in a year.
At the moment, about 2,000 labs are working in the north of Afghanistan. “Plantations of opium poppy in the south of Afghanistan are aimed at processing in labs; and there is a social order from those who sponsor planting opium poppy for these labs continue their existence. There is a certain social base of drug producing. It includes 4 million peasants who cultivate opium poppy, not to mention those who deal with trafficking, armed guarding, sowing, transit, and store logistics. Almost a half of the Afghan population is involved into the process,” Ivanov says.
He added that, “the outrage which has been going on in Afghanistan for 15 years is demanded by people who deal with drug traffic to certain outlet markets beyond Afghanistan. It is demanded by hundred thousand drug addicts who live in Russia and the EU countries, in Central Asia and China; and it is also demanded by the international banking system. Revenues from narcotic business are absorbed by the banking system and eliminate liquidity squeeze which appeared due to the world financial crisis in recent 5-6 years.”
Thus, according to Ivanov, the problem should be solved not only by the police officers, but also the UN Security Council: “It should detect and register challenges and threats to peace, security and reflect it in its decisions, drawing attention of the international society to settlement of the problem. It is not only about the police elimination of infrastructure elements in the country (labs, plantations, separate drug traffickers), but also in changing the economic and social system in Afghanistan. Huge sums, great efforts were taken in South America to modernize the police equipment, arms, special vehicles, i.e. to improve a force component. But for 60 years cocaine is being produced in South America and it still hasn’t been stopped. One should stop and think what to do in the situation. The international society has found an approach – alternative infrastructural economic development of the countries where drug industry is prospering. One should take the bull by the horns and eliminate industry in Afghanistan, but the police measures are not enough. The international society should consolidate its forces.”
original article found here
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