Directors of anti-narcotics organisations in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states have decided to come with up an immediate plan and a new strategy to deal with the trafficking of Captagon pills.
They also decided to set up a unified GCC team, under the supervision of the Gulf Criminal Information Centre to Combat Drugs (GCC-CICCD), to tackle the drugs menace, catch traffickers and prosecute them internationally.
The decision was taken at an emergency meeting held at the GCC-CICCD in Doha. The meeting sought to discuss the GCC strategy to combat the illegal trafficking of Captagon within the framework of efforts made in the region to deal with problem of drugs, according to information available on the Ministry of Interior’s website.
The centre's director, Brigadier Saqr Rashid al-Muraikhi, said the seizure of a large quantity of drugs in GCC countries recently highlighted the need to root out the drug smuggling networks in the region.
Brigadier al-Muraikhi said these criminal networks were posing a big threat, as confirmed by the results of laboratory analyses of the samples seized. He also stressed that intelligence gathered by the anti-drugs bodies in the GCC pointed to the need to develop an emergency plan to fight such criminals.
"The challenges faced by GCC countries require intensified co-operation and enhancing the efficiency of drug-control officers by increasing training programmes and courses," he said, adding that in recent years, GCC countries have pursued a new strategy to combat drugs - thwarting several attempts to smuggle narcotics and psychotropic substances.
He explained that the fight against drugs required work at multiple levels. Being an international, regional and local problem, it required co-operation at all levels in order to stop its production, trafficking and consumption.
He stressed that the fight must be geared towards the production, distribution and consumption processes.
Further, Brigadier al-Muraikhi said the trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals posed direct and indirect threats to humanity in terms of damage to the moral fabric, stability, security and sources of livelihood. He stressed on zero tolerance towards criminal networks operating in the illicit production and promotion of drugs.