OSCE course in Turkmenistan promotes co-operation in countering drug trafficking
ASHGABAT, 24 April 2014 – An OSCE-organized course on conducting regional joint investigations and controlled delivery operations to combat drug trafficking ends in Ashgabat tomorrow.
The OSCE Centre in Ashgabat organized the week-long practical training course to assist Turkmenistan’s law-enforcement bodies in enhancing their operational capacities to tackle illegal trafficking of drugs and chemical precursors, specifically in a regional context. The course brought together representatives from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of National Security, State Service to Protect the Security of a Health Society, Supreme Court and General Prosecutor’s Office as well as State Customs Service and State Border Service. Representatives from Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation also attended the course.
Experts from Bulgaria and Romania presented definitions and rules of controlled delivery, a technique which is used when a consignment of illicit drugs is detected and allowed to go forward under the control and surveillance of law enforcement officers in order to secure evidence against the organizers of such illicit drug traffic. The course also addressed effective methods for investigating the trafficking of illicit narcotics, planning and managing the international operations of controlled delivery, as well as the role of law-enforcement and judicial bodies in controlled delivery. Case studies related to possible challenges that national law-enforcement agencies may encounter during international operations of controlled deliveries were also discussed.
“This course builds on the achievements of the continued co-operation between the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat and the Government of Turkmenistan in the area of combating drug trafficking,” said Richard Wheeler, Political Officer of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. “We believe that the event will support the host government in its efforts to strengthen the capacities of law-enforcement agencies to engage in effective interagency and interstate anti-drug co-operation.”
The 2012 OSCE Concept for Combating the Threat of Illicit Drugs and Diversion of Precursors highlighted the importance of co-operation among the participating States for “enhancing comprehensive security and prosperity, improving the well-being of society and of the individual, and protecting human rights, fundamental freedoms and public health”.