DUSHANBE, March 18, Asia-Plus — Mechanism of interaction and concrete channels for exchange of information between the Tajik Drug Control Agency (DCA) and the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Center (CARICC) for combating drug trafficking were a focus of a meeting of the DCA deputy director Vaysiddin Azamatov with the CARICC acting director Mukhtarbek Madybayev that was held in Dushanbe in on March 17, the DCA press service said.
In the course of the talks, the two discussed issues related to organization of interaction in complex international operations as well as appointment of representatives to the council of national coordinators and status of representatives.
Mr. Madybayev, in particular, noted that the visit to Tajikistan is the first leg of their tour of Central Asian states because Tajikistan plays an important role in the fight against drug trafficking in the region.
Toufiq Murshudlu, the chief coordinator of the CARICC creation project, and Sheravliyo Mirzoavliyoyev, Tajikistan’s representative to the CARICC, attended the meeting.
As it had been reported earlier, Mukhtarbek Madybayev heading the CARICC delegation arrived in Tajikistan on March 16 for a three-day working visit. During its stay in Tajikistan, the CARICC delegation is also scheduled to hold talks with senior representatives from president’s executive office, the lower house of the parliament, as well as ministries of foreign affair and interior to discuss issues related to interaction among relevant agencies of member nations of the Center in combating drug trafficking.
Established in November 2007 under financial support of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), CARICC is headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The center was established under an agreement signed by the presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
According to UNODC website, during the past decade, there has been an increase in the smuggling of the illicit Afghan opium and heroin through Central Asia. As part of the UNODC response to assist the law enforcement agencies of the Central Asian States to introduce an intelligence approach to counter the problem of drug trafficking and organized crime and to improve cooperation between these agencies, UNODC has assisted in establishing a Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Center (CARICC).
In order to ensure that information regarding cross border criminal activities is acted upon swiftly, the Centre is staffed by liaison officers from law enforcement agencies of the member states. The Center serves as a regional focal point for communication, analysis and exchange of operational information in “real time” on cross-border crime, as well as a centre for organization and coordination of joint operations.
