FBIS3-31267 "dreeu032_c_94011"
FBIS-EEU-94-032 Document Type:Daily Report 16 Feb 1994
CZECH REPUBLIC

Interpol Favors Using Security Services in Drug War

AU1502200194 Prague RUDE PRAVO in Czech 9 Feb 94 p 9 AU1502200194 Prague RUDE PRAVO Language: Czech Article Type:BFN [Interview with Interpol Director General Raymond Kendall by Vladimir Sevela in Strasbourg; date not given: "According To the Interpol Chief, the Drugs Mafia in Europe Is Winning"] [Text] Strasbourg--Interpol Director General Raymond Kendall declared in the Council of Europe last week that the methods employed so far to combat the organized drug trade have failed. He said that, despite the efforts by police forces throughout the continent, the drugs mafias have become consolidated during the past three years, and the aggression shown by their organizations has also increased. The Interpol chief appealed to European countries to incorporate their security and information services into the struggle against international drug mafias and to utilize all the potential left behind in this sphere following the collapse of the Iron Curtain. "Let us proceed from the fact that the organized drug mafia is a foreign power set against the state. The current deployment of forces and resources between them and the police is uneven; therefore, it is necessary to apply other courses of action," he said. Kendall also said that drug-related crime is now spreading dramatically throughout East Europe. Russia, Poland, and the Baltic states have become the main European producers of psychotropic substances, which are beginning to be the most sought-after drugs. According to Interpol figures, several times more heroin was seized in Bulgaria and Hungary last year than in the countries with a long "tradition" of using it--France and Belgium. Because the drug problem is affecting the Czech Republic increasingly, MLADA FRONTA DNES asked Raymond Kendall for an interview. [Sevela] How are politicians responding to your appeal to use the intelligence services in the struggle against the drug trade? [Kendall] At the moment, it is too early for me to outline any specific reactions because this entire idea is, in essence, new. First of all, it is necessary for government and political officials to understand the seriousness of the threat represented by organized crime in the drug trade and to be aware of the kind of resources that it is necessary to use. I think, however, that they are aware of the benefit that will arise from combining efforts in an assault on these criminal organizations. Then, it is necessary to put the security services--this massive apparatus for acquiring and analyzing information--at the immediate disposal of the authorities involved in the struggle against drugs. [Sevela] Some politicians maintain, however, that the security and information services are already being used for this purpose.... [Kendall] Yes, but intelligence centers always have a tendency to act independently. According to my proposal, they should not operate separately and in isolation. They should be subordinate to the people supervising the struggle against drugs-related crime. [Sevela] It is possible somehow to prevent corruption in the offices intended to combat the drug trade? [Kendall] Your question touches upon one of the biggest problems. Organized crime is a source of huge profit and brings with it the possibility of corruption among officials in all posts, including the most senior ones. Therefore, it is important for all countries--but mainly those whom corruption most concerns--to introduce specific measures. [Sevela] You yourself are an advocate of balance between repression and prevention in the drug sphere. You have proposed orienting efforts toward restricting the demand for narcotics. Should East Europe proceed differently from West Europe? [Kendall] No, this problem is the same everywhere. Despite this, the countries of the former Eastern bloc are, to a certain extent, lucky because the majority of people there cannot afford the prices the traffickers demand for drugs. Another aspect is that many things from West Europe, including drugs, are attractive, especially to young people. Of course, it is possible to avoid the problems that afflict us by means of prevention. It is enough to learn from our experience, first and foremost, in restricting the demand for drugs and to try to stop them infiltrating into the country--something that is on the increase--until your economy improves. [Sevela] In what direction should prevention be oriented? [Kendall] It is simply necessary to explain to people that drugs are bad. It is necessary to explain the health risks from these dangerous toxic substances as is being done for tobacco and alcohol.