SCO interior ministers to discuss anticrime efforts

ASTANA, April 28 (Itar-Tass) -- Interior ministers from the member
countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will meet here on
Thursday to discuss joint efforts in the fight against crime. The Russian
delegation is led by Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev.
The meeting's agenda includes three basic issues: the fight against
organized crime, efforts to curb drug trafficking, and measures against
cyber crimes. Nurgaliyev told Itar-Tass. "First of all, we will discuss
the current situation in counteracting drug-related crimes," he said. "It
is a secret to no one that proceeds from drug traffic is a serious source
of financing organized crime, and Russia is on the way of the so-called
"northern route" of heroin trafficking from Afghanistan via Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. Our country is often used as a
gateway to traffic drugs further to Europe."
"As of now, efforts against illegal drug trafficking is one of the key
issues for the SCO member states," he went on. "We must pool our efforts
in the fight against this evil, regularly conduct coordinated operations
to stop illegal drug trafficking."
The meeting, Nurgaliyev said, will also discuss joint efforts to
counteract organized crime, including tougher control of movements of
leaders and active participants in organized crime gang across the
territories of the SCO member states.
"We will pay special attention to issues of counteracting cyber
crimes, which are becoming ever more popular," he said. "It is necessary
to more actively exchange experience in this area and to elaborate joint
measures to expose and investigate crimes in the sphere of information
technologies and improper use of the Internet."
Apart from interior ministers from Kazakhstan, Russia, China,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, participants in the meeting will
include heads of the secretariat and the SCO regional anti-terrorism body,
representatives from the SCO observer states (India, Iran, Mongolia,
Pakistan), and SCO dialogue partners (Belarus, and Sri Lanka).
The meeting will yield a protocol of cooperation that will outline
basic areas of cooperation between SCO interior ministries, the Russian
interior ministry's press service said.