China produces synthetic drug which is 50 times stronger than heroin - US Department of State

Baku / 15.04.19 / Turan: The United States is the largest drug user in the world and this is a serious problem for the country, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Richard H. Glenn, Deputy Assistant Secretary, said this in an interview with Turan. This seriously affects the fight against the drug business, creating certain problems. No country in the world alone can fight against drugs. Criminal groups are actively using the Internet and e-mail, while remaining invisible.

The US traditionally suffers from cocaine and heroin from Mexico and the countries of South America, as well as from the Middle East region. Recently, however, a synthetic drug such as Fentinil has appeared. "The main place of its production is China. This extremely potent drug is 50 times stronger than heroin. Three milligrams of fentinil is enough to kill a man. It is very cheap and much stronger than other traditional drugs such as opioids. To prevent the production and supply of such drugs, we need international cooperation," said Richard Glenn.

He highly appreciated the efforts of the Azerbaijani authorities to curb the transit of drugs through their territory. Answering the question of how the United States can share its experience in combating drugs with Azerbaijan, Richard Glenn said that it is important to bring together laws and law enforcement cooperation, as well as rehabilitation of people affected by drugs. At the same time, it is important to respect human rights, ensuring justice of the courts.

It is extremely important to exchange information, which was manifested, for example, during the arrest, extradition of the USA and conviction of the famous Mexican drug lord named Chapo, the State Department spokesman said.

Corruption of law enforcement agencies in the world remains a problem in the fight against drug trafficking, since the annual drug trafficking in the world ranges from 40 to 60 billion dollars.

The main flow of drugs goes to Azerbaijan from Iran, how can the United States help in the fight against this?

To this, Richard Glenn said that close collaboration and information sharing is essential. This will allow Azerbaijan to be more effective in stopping the drug traffic from this and all other directions.

A serious threat to the whole world is Fentinil, which is easy to produce and its market is expanding. In addition to China, it is produced in India too. This is synthetics, and opium plantation is not needed for its production. This chemical is used in medicine for anesthesia, therefore it is easily available. We need serious efforts and cooperation to combat this new type of drugs, which also has several modifications. Moreover, in many countries they do not even know him. "I hope that it is not in Azerbaijan yet," Richard Glenn concluded. -02B-