Vietnam, Australia enhance cooperation in drug combat

Lt. Gen. Nguyen Van Vien, Director of the Police Department for Drug Related Crime Investigation, speaks at the conference on September 26. (Photo: baochinhphu.vn)

The first Vietnam - Australia conference on cooperation in drug prevention and control took place in Nha Trang city, the central province of Khanh Hoa, on September 26.

Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Vien, Director of the Police Department for Drug Related Crime Investigation (C04) under the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security, and Deputy Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) Lesa Gale co-chaired the event.

Vien said Vietnam is facing great pressure from the trafficking of drugs from the Golden Triangle. Besides, amid international integration and globalisation, drug related crimes in other regions in the world have also had certain impacts on Vietnam, making the drug crime situation more complicated.

This fact requires closer and more effective coordination among law enforcement forces of countries, he went on.

With their geographical locations favourable for sea and air transport, Vietnam and Australia encounter a common threat that these means of transport are used to traffic large volumes of drugs. Synthetic drugs brought from the Golden Triangle to Vietnam may continue to be shipped to Australia, the official pointed out.

He expressed his belief that Australia shares Vietnam’s viewpoint of preventing drugs early and from a far. Given this, it is necessary to maintain cooperation and share a higher sense of responsibility to crack down on drug related crimes and minimise the consequences left by the crimes for society.

Vietnamese and Australian officials at the conference (Photo: baochinhphu.vn)

For her part, Deputy Commissioner Gale emphasised that the AFP considered drug prevention and control as a common priority as drug related crimes have continued causing threats to both countries.

The AFP wishes to work with the Vietnamese police for drug related crime investigation to fight against these threats, she said, noting that the conference marks the AFP’s commitment to continue assisting the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security by building capacity, sharing information, and seeking opportunities for joint investigations.

The Australian side hopes to see more successes following the results gained so far from the combat against trans-national drug crimes and money laundering, she added.

At the meeting, the C04 and AFP exchanged information about the drug crime situation in each country and shared experience to improve the effectiveness of the trans-national drug crime combat.

They also signed a letter of agreement under which the two sides will share information and experience, support the verification of drug crime information, carry out joint investigation measures for trans-national drug cases involving the two countries, provide training in drug crime investigation, and supply equipment helping with investigation./.