– Through the time young people are starting to use drugs in Armenia. What is the main direction of function of the police department on fighting drugs?
– In the modern world the illegal circulation and use of drugs is one of the biggest social problems. Everywhere in the world and in Armenia people are fighting against the bad habit and crime. The official rates can speak about the effective work of the police department on fighting drugs. The fight against drug use is conducted in two directions – reducing the supply and reducing the demand. The responsible bodies are the police and other power institutions. For the second direction the role of the media is very important too. Our main goal is to struggle against those who have and are keeping drugs. According to the Article 266 of the criminal code, the criminals who cultivate, keep and disseminate drugs illegally are subject to 3-15 imprisonment. According to the Article 268, those who circulate drugs without selling them are subject to imprisonment from two months to 6 years. In Armenia the number of the people who sell drugs is less by 1,5 times than the number of those who only use without selling. In 2009 there were 1238 crimes in Armenia, 539 out of which were under the 266th article, and 699 under the 268th article.
– If the tendency is growing, does that mean that the police don’t work well?
– I don’t think that it is a result of bad work on part of the police. The police did not work well, simply our approaches have changed and we are using other methods and the international experienced in our work. The president has approved the strategy of fighting against drug business for 2010-2011 and clearly instructed us what to do, and the government has adopted a timeline for our action plan. The number of the discovered crimes in this sector has almost grown twice in Armenia than in the other CIS countries. In other countries this rate is about 5-10%. We are fighting against the use of drugs and usually drug addicts have two solutions – either they will be lost or they have to be cured. Now I think all of us should think about this issue.
– Young people use drugs in streets, clubs and night clubs. How do the police control this process as foreigners bring a lot of drugs into Armenia?
– Opium is usually imported to Armenia from the neighboring countries. 95% of the world is using the opium made in Afghanistan. We have received information that there are drugs circulated in night clubs and we have found some people who disseminated drugs in night clubs and punished them.
– Are they Armenians?
– Not only Armenians. There are Russians, Indians, etc. By the way, two years ago some students of the medical university brought some tabs from India and sold in Armenia. The police found these Indian students and punished them. The problem of drugs is the problem of the society, thus I am asking everybody to help the police and give us information if you know that there are drugs in any clubs. We promise that this information will be confidential.
– Today drugs with chemical liquids are widespread, what solutions do the police have for this type of drugs?
– This type of drugs is used mostly by the youth of Vanadzor, Gyumri and Yerevan. This liquid has the addiction for people and drives people to death very fast. This type of drug is used by needy people because it is very cheap. We are discussing the issue of involving these two types of liquids in the list of drugs prohibited officially with the ministry of healthcare.
– How many cases there have been when teenagers and women were made to sell drugs?
– 605 people have been convicted, 12 out of which are women and 49 foreigners. There were two people under 18, 42 people from 18 to 24. 84 people were over 40. In 2010 the police have found about 72 kilos of different types of drugs. The hard drugs such as opium and heroine are brought to Armenia from neighboring countries, especially France and Russia.
– What has changed? Is the supply of opium higher now?
– The supply is originated by the demand. Our experience shows that the demand has grown. Opium is a very hard type of drugs and currently 100 people are getting treatment in the clinic in charge of drug use.
– What punishments are there for drug addicts?
– Drug addicts are subject to administrative punishment but the experience shows that it is one step from being a drug addict to becoming criminal.
– Recently the Day Press News web site published information that Iran is producing medicine against sclerosis, which in other words is called MS type of drug. According to this web site, the first order of the drug is already ready and will be exported to Syria, Russia and Armenia shortly. Do the police know about this?
– To be honest it is the first time I hear about that. If this medicine is for helping the sick, it is OK. Anyway, this issue will be in the focus of the police, I assure that.