MINSK, 5 November (BelTA) - The situation with illegal drug trafficking in Belarus remains under control, Belarusian Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Kubrakov told the media following his report to Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko on 5 November, BelTA has learned.
One of the topics reported to the head of state was the efforts to counter illegal drug trafficking. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the number of drug trafficking and distribution cases this year has remained roughly at the same level as the corresponding period last year. However, law enforcement units have seized twice as many drugs - approximately 500 kg compared to 231 kg year-on-year. In total, about 1.3 tonnes of drugs have been seized by various state agencies. Typically, these are substances attempted to be smuggled into Belarus for further transit to other countries.
“Naturally, we intercepted [the shipment] and worked jointly with our colleagues in the destination countries,” the minister said.
He added that the number of deaths from drug overdoses has nearly halved, a result of the joint work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Healthcare Ministry. The number of teenagers involved in drug dealing has decreased by one-third.
“The drug situation in our country is under control. The number of crimes [in this area] has remained almost at last year's level. We are in no way scaling back our operational efforts. Work is being conducted jointly with customs services at the border, as well as inside our country. Today we see the result: we are managing to keep the situation regarding drug-related crimes under control, Ivan Kubrakov summarized.
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