The number of
drug-related convictions in Cambodia nearly quadrupled last year, a sobering
statistic officials yesterday blamed on the nation’s increasing popularity as a
transit point for international drug traffickers.
“Drug criminals continue to use Cambodia as a targeted place of drug
producing and drug trafficking,” Interior
Minister Sar Kheng said in Phnom Penh yesterday at the annual meeting of
the National Authority for Combating Drugs.
These activities were “dangerous” for Cambodian society, he said,
disrupting peace and security and impacting on people’s livelihoods, as users
were spending money on drugs instead of staples such as food and shelter.
About 700 government officials from throughout the Kingdom attended
yesterday’s meeting, during which the NACD released its enforcement statistics
for 2011, which showed dramatic increases in several categories of drug
enforcement.
The number of drug-related convictions had shot to 951 last year from
248 in 2010, NACD chairman Ke Kim-yan said.
Drug-related arrests also jumped considerably to more than 1,300 in
2011, compared with 864 in 2010.
The number of drug raids conducted by authorities increased by 150 per
cent.
Experts said yesterday these statistics were consistent with increased
levels of trafficking in the country.
David Harding, an internat-ional adviser on drugs for the NGO Friends
International, said he had seen a stabilisat-ion of drug use across Cambodia in
the past two years, and these figures were “more a reflection of an increase in
traffic rather than an increase in use”.
Olivier Lemert, country manager for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime,
also pointed to the salience of Cambodia’s trafficking problem.
“The main point of all this is that Cambodia remains a key transit
country for ATS [amphetamine-type stimulants] and heroin and is being
increasingly targeted by international drug trafficking organisations,” Lemert
said by email yesterday.
A UNODC report released last November also observed increased levels of
trafficking, saying: “The manufacture, trafficking and use of illicit drugs is
a significant and worsening problem in Cambodia.
“There are indicators of increasing numbers of local and international
drug criminals using the country as a manufacturing base and a transit route
for ATS and other drugs.”
Lement said a “comprehensive response” was needed, “including, in
particular, access to voluntary-based . . . treatment, based in the community”.
Sar Kheng called for greater co-operation with Laotian and Thai
officials to help stem trafficking across those borders.
The UNODC report says there is “some likelihood” a recent Thai
anti-drug campaign could lead traffickers to smuggle more drugs into Cambodia.
Despite the encouraging arrest
and conviction statistics, Harding said authorities were not catching “the big
producers, the big traffickers, the big distributors”.
“We’re not . . . seeing arrests
made with a large amount of drugs,” he said.
These observations were supported by NACD statistics which revealed
that, despite the increased number of raids, the amount of drugs confiscated
had increased by a negligible amount, from 31 tonnes in 2010 to 34 tonnes this
past year.
Buth Reaksmey Kongkea with additional reporting by Kristin Lynch
The Phnom Penh Post
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
No comments:
Post a Comment