DUSHANBE, February 25, 2014, Asia-Plus – Tajikistan is making preparations for an anti-drug operation, dubbed Channel, which involves member nations of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

The first meeting of the Tajik working group to discuss holding of local events within the framework of the Channel Operation took place at the Drug Control Agency under the President of Tajikistan (DCA) in Dushanbe yesterday.

According to the DCA press center, the meeting participants included representatives of the Security Council, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Interior, the Main Border Guard Directorate under the State Committee for National Security (SCNS), Customs Service under the Government of Tajikistan, DCA, as well as Deputy Secretary of the CSTO Coordinating Council to counter drug trafficking and representative of Russia’s Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN).

The meeting discussed a number of organizing issues related to holding of the operation and organization of training teams during the operation, the source said.

The Channel Operation, involving law enforcement agencies of member nations of the CSTO (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan), has been conducted annually since 2003.