DUSHANBE, February 21, Asia-Plus  -- Rustam Nazarov, the director of Tajikistan’s Drug Control Agency (DCA), today met in Dushanbe with Azhar Rashid Khan, coordinator of the Strengthening Control along the Tajik-Afghan Border Project, information posted on the DCA website said.     

During the meeting, Tajik drug control chief briefed the project coordinator on the present drug situation in Tajikistan, activity of the Tajik counternarcotics agency, and measures taken by the Tajik government to improve fight of the country’s law enforcement agencies against drug trafficking.   

For his part, Azhar Rashid Khan expressed readiness to cooperate with DCA in further strengthening of its potential. 

The Strengthening Control along the Tajik-Afghan Project is designed to improve capacities of the law enforcement agencies in identifying and intercepting drug traffickers, facilitating storage and destruction of seized drugs; and in promoting effective utilization of sniffing dogs at the border control posts.    

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is a specialized UN agency, with mandate of combating illicit drug trafficking and preventing organized crime. In line with relevant UN conventions UNODC activities are being implemented in global, regional and national levels. 

Since the mid 1990s, the UNODC has been involved into the joint cooperation with the Government and non-government organizations of Tajikistan in combating drug trafficking and decreasing drug addiction.  It operates through its office in Dushanbe, which is a branch of UNODC Headquarters is located in Vienna, Austria, UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.