RIYADH, 10 April — The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has plans to set up a network of agencies involving the Arab countries to combat the growing problem of drug trafficking in the region. Interpol will be a partner in the regional network, extending its considerable expertise to confront the menace of drugs.
The plan was revealed by Robert Hauschild, an officer at the psychotropic desk of the Interpol, here yesterday. He was speaking to Arab News after the opening session of a symposium organized by Prince Naif Arab Academy for Security Sciences in cooperation with Interpol.
The three-day event is being attended by senior officials from 10 Arab countries including Saudi Arabia. The symposium seeks to focus on how Interpol, based in Lyons, France, can help the Gulf states and the Arab countries to fight the drug menace. Founded in 1923 with a mandate to tackle organized crime, terrorism, commercial fraud and drug trafficking on a global level, Interpol has a regional bureau in Saudi Arabia.
The Kingdom has already concluded a series of agreements with other Arab countries for fighting drug trafficking. Riyadh has also set up an anti-narcotic agency. Three specialized hospitals — known as Amal hospitals — have been established for treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts.
Referring to the proposed anti-drugs network, Hauschild said, “We are afraid that synthetic drugs are coming to the Arab countries. So, we would like to establish a kind of network that will facilitate exchange of information and data, provide assistance in investigation and organize specialized workshops besides intensifying contacts between the law enforcement agencies.”
Interpol is already helping Arab countries in dealing with crimes against people and property, trafficking in human beings, terrorism, organized crime and drugs. Crime on Internet is a new phenomenon, said the Interpol official.
Pointing to a dramatic increase in drug abuse, Hauschild said some 30 million synthetic tablets had been seized from traffickers last year compared to just 3.2 million in 1996.
Interpol is currently collecting information on this new genre of drugs and is trying to identify the international criminal rackets involved in smuggling them, he said.
