NA members learn of good progress in govt’s war on drugs

Over the past three years police have confiscated over 32,000 kilograms of illegal drugs, and processed more than 10,000 cases involving drug use and trafficking, under the government’s National Agenda aimed at curbing the drug trade.
Speaking at the National Assembly last week, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Security, General Vilay Lakhamfong, said that under the direction of the National Agenda on drugs, the Ministry of Public Security has worked hard to solve the burgeoning drug problem.

General Vilay Lakhamfong addresses the National Assembly last week.

The ministry has made a lot of progress in this work, including satisfactorily processing 10,843 drug-related cases, making 15,966 arrests, and confiscating amphetamine pills and powders weighing a total of 32,111.78 kilograms, together with more than 260 tons of various chemicals.
Police also seized and sold a large number of vehicles, plots of land and guesthouses during and following raids, while 10,900 drug addicts were sent to rehabilitation centres for treatment. Also guided by the National Agenda, public security officials have raised public awareness about the harmful effects of drugs through education and publicising the laws and regulations on drugs. The anti-drug campaign has been carried out from the central to local levels.
The law around drug crimes has been strengthened and changes made to improve security officials’ political functions in carrying out investigations. Officials working in people’s prosecutor offices and people’s courts have received training to make their work more effective, while changes have also been made in the way court decisions are executed, and among other government agencies working to tackle the drug problem.
The level of efficiency in the management of security officials and their work has been improved under the slogan “3 methods, 3 goals, 3 principles”. The principle of professionalism has been implemented successfully, and the capacity of the political system at each level has been strengthened in guiding drug-related operations within each agency’s scope of responsibility.
Cooperation with other countries in stemming drug trafficking has been stepped up, in particular with Vietnam and China, as well as with other countries in the region and international organisations.
General Vilay suggested extending the timeframe of the National Agenda on drugs until the end of 2025.
He also recommended that work to tackle drug addiction be viewed as a criterion for the successful fulfilment of political duties and when considering successors in future Party committees, ministries, organisations and government agencies at all levels.
In addition, coordination, management and monitoring should be improved, he advised. He suggested that ministries, mass organisations and localities across the country place a priority on efforts to publicise the harmful effects of drug use and to enforce legislation relating to drugs.
More funding should be sourced to provide alternative work opportunities for people in villages where the cultivation of opium poppies is known to be persistent.
The public security minister also advised creating a model treatment centre that would offer job training for drug addicts so they could learn a skill and earn money when they returned to their local communities. Since the introduction of the National Agenda on drugs, there has been a noticeable improvement in efforts to curb drug abuse and trafficking, and members of the public have helped both directly and indirectly to tackle the drug problem.
This has been achieved by people providing the police with useful information, while offices and organisations and local governments at various levels have also stepped up support for the battle against drugs. This has been backed up by assistance from friendly countries, neighbouring countries, and international organisations.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update November 6, 2023)