Al-Rahmoun: Syria plays an effective role in combating drugs
Baghdad (ST) – Interior Minister, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Khaled Al-Rahmoun, affirmed that Syria plays an effective role in combating drug trafficking. He stressed the importance of cooperation between the countries in the region in the light of the spread of terrorist groups and drug smuggling activities on the borders.
In a speech during the 2nd Baghdad International Conference on Combating Drug, Al- Rahmoun said: “Syria has been playing an important role in supporting the efforts of the international community to combat crime in general and drug trafficking in particular”.
Al-Rahmoun presented a number of results of cooperation and coordination efforts with neighboring countries, especially Iraq and Jordan, after the first Baghdad International Conference last year and the Quartet meeting in Amman in February of this year, which resulted during the past two months in the arrest of some members of networks operating in the field of smuggling narcotic substances.
“The Syrian Ministry of the Interior gave the anti-narcotics units great attention and care, providing them with infrastructure within the existing and available capabilities despite the war and the unjust siege imposed on Syria”, Al- Rahmoun clarified
Al-Rahmoun reiterated Syria’s effective commitment and cooperation in confronting drug smuggling crimes and its openness to coordination and cooperation with everyone to combat this crime and prevent its spread.
It is noteworthy that the work of the Second Baghdad International Conference on Combating Drugs was launched earlier today, with the participation of the interior ministers of Iraq’s neighboring countries.
Final statement
Participants in the 2nd Baghdad International Conference on Drug Control stressed the necessity of strengthening joint action mechanisms and adopting the principle of integration in security work in order to close drug smuggling routes, prevent drug cultivation and manufacturing in various forms, and chasing the gangs that are active in this field and dismantle and eliminate them.
In their final statement at the end of the conference held in Baghdad today with the participation of delegations from Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt, Iran and Turkey, the participants stressed the importance of updating the databases of criminals and those wanted in drug trafficking cases in the participating countries and protecting this data from hacking with the aim of benefitting from this data in tracking and controlling operations for this type of crime.
The participants noted the importance of adopting scientific methods and modern technology in the operations of detecting the crimes, in a way that ensures that criminals are brought to justice.
They recommended activating prevention mechanisms to avoid addiction, tightening penalties for drugs dealers, studying the possibility of expanding the establishment of rehabilitation centers for drug addicts and drug dealers, and exchanging expertise and experiences to improve the efficiency of performance.
Najla Khoury/ Hamda Mustafa