On May 23 of this year, the next meeting of the Сommission was held under the chairmanship of Ali Ahmadov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the State Commission for Combating Drug Addiction and Illegal Trafficking in Narcotics in the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the discussion of the work done by the relevant ministry, committee and other organizations.
At the meeting, the work done and the tasks ahead were discussed in connection with the implementation of the measures provided for in the "2019-2024 State Program for the fight against the illegal circulation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors and the fight against drug addiction".
Chairman of the State Commission for Combating Drug Addiction and Illegal Trafficking of Narcotics, Ali Ahmadov, opened the meeting with an introductory speech and stated that in order to fulfill the tasks set in the "2019-2024 State Program on Illegal Trafficking of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Their Precursors and Combating Drug Addiction" approved by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated July 22, 2019, measures to fight against the illegal circulation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors have been strengthened, appropriate work has been done to adapt anti-narcotic propaganda to the requirements of the modern era as well as purposeful measures have been implemented in connection with the improvement of legislation in this area.
At the same time, Ali Ahmadov brought to the attention of the participants of the meeting the comparative analysis of the information on the cities and regions about the detected criminal facts related to the illegal circulation of drugs in the territory of the country and the drugs seized from illegal circulation. Thus, more than 2 tons and 262 kilograms of various types of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances were removed from illegal circulation by law enforcement agencies in 3796 cases during the months of January-April 2024, which also reported a 196-fold decrease in drug-related crimes compared to the corresponding period of last year and at the same time it is reported a decrease in the weight of illegal drugs by 849 kilograms, including the decrease of 407 people in the number of people brought to criminal responsibility, also reported a decrease in the number of deaths due to overdose of drugs.
At the meeting of the State Commission, the Deputy Chairman of the State Customs Committee Javad Gasimov, the Deputy Chief of the State Border Service Abbas Khalilov, the Deputy Minister of Health Nadir Zeynalov, the Deputy Head of the Salyan District Executive Power, the Chairman of the District Commission for Combating Drug Addiction and Illegal Trafficking Rashad Jabrayilov, Orkhan Ibrahimov, Deputy Head of Shirvan City Executive Authority, Chairman of the City Commission for Combating Drug Addiction and Illegal Trafficking of Drugs gave a speech on the situation of the measures taken by the organizations they represent to combat the illegal circulation of drugs and the work done to reduce the number of drug addicts, as well as the tasks ahead in this field.
At the meeting, the Chairman of the State Commission, Ali Ahmadov, expressed his concern about the facts of illegal smuggling of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances into the country in recent times, and the increase in indicators related to the use of narcotic drugs in some cities and regions compared to the corresponding period of 2023. To prevent such situations necessity was emphasized on increasing the efforts of relevant state institutions and the public, increasing the effectiveness of measures to combat the illegal circulation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors and also the need to further strengthen anti-narcotic propaganda and educational work by organizing it in a complex manner by the relevant bodies was emphasized.
In conclusion, a corresponding decision was made to set specific tasks before the relevant institutions in the field of implementation of the tasks ahead, prevention of smuggling of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances into the country, including strengthening activities at customs-border checkpoints and border areas and increasing control over transit cargo transportation, establishing a rehabilitation center, improving the material and technical base of drug addiction medical institutions, improving the quality of drug addiction services and staffing potential, combating the illegal circulation of drugs in cities and regions where drug addiction is especially widespread and strengthening the fight against drug addiction and a decision was made to further increase efficiency in the direction of implementing other necessary measures.
