Politburo member and permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Tran Quoc Vuong on July 9 stressed close coordination as well as synchronous efforts of relevant forces in the fight against drug.

Politburo member and permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Tran Quoc Vuong addresses the meeting in Hanoi on July 9  

He made the remarks at a teleconference in Hanoi that reviewed the 10-year implementation of the Politburo’s Directive No. 21-CT/TW, dated March 26, 2008, on continuing to enhance the leadership over the anti-drug fight in the new context, along with Directive No. 36-CT/TW on promoting the combat’s effectiveness.

Minister of Public Security To Lam pointed out recent complex developments of drug crime which, he said, is among non-traditional and trans-national security issues and also jeopardises the country’s sustainable development, harms users’ health, and leads to many other crimes.

Echoing this, Vuong said while the drug situation remains complicated, the anti-drug combat’s efficiency and effectiveness are still modest, the coordination among all-level authorities and sectors was lax sometimes, in addition to drug rehabilitation and post-rehabilitation management yet to meet demand.

Authorities and sectors from central to local levels need to raise their cadres and Party members’ awareness of the importance of the fight, he said, asking them to consider drug prevention and control as an urgent and also regular task that requires patience, drastic moves, high resolve and close coordination among authorities, sectors and socio-political organisations.

The public security force is in charge of coordinating the combat while border guard and customs forces are responsible for preventing drug trafficking in border areas and ports of entry, and they must not perform this task separately, Vuong noted.

Relevant agencies should also promote cooperation with foreign partners so that the anti-drug fight will become more fruitful, according to the official.

During 10 years since the Politburo’s issuance of Directive No. 21, authorised forces uncovered more than 200,000 cases involving over 302,000 people, seizing over 7.6 tonnes of heroin, 3 tonnes of synthetic drugs and many other drug types. Added with the 2019 data, the amount of seized synthetic drugs approximated 10 tonnes.

Besides, more than 209,000 drug addicts have received treatment. International cooperation in the fight against drug has been further enhanced and expanded, both bilaterally and multilaterally, especially with neighbouring countries and within the ASEAN, Mekong sub-region, and other regional and global cooperation mechanisms.