Turkey is more and more often lending expertise and instruction in combating illegal drug trafficking, sharing with other nations what it has learned in the course of its successful campaign against such illegal activities.
The Turkish Police Academy for Combating International Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime (TADOC) has provided courses to nearly 2,000 people from 58 countries on how to tackle drug-related crime.
A TADOC report says they trained 270 police from 26 countries in 2004; 280 police from 23 countries in 2005; and 446 police from 32 countries in 2007. In addition, over 400 foreign police officers attended TADOC training courses in the first half of 2008. Police officers who are trained in Turkey in turn go on to become trainers for officers in their countries.
TADOC courses have trained 121 Kosovars, 56 Afghans, 23 Azerbaijanis and many others, including participants from Germany, China, Guinea, Holland, Pakistan, Mongolia, Malta, Syria and Sudan.
Police departments from Asia, Africa, Europe and America send participants to TADOC courses, which are supported by the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and other economic cooperation organizations. Upon Turkey’s success in tackling drug dealers of the Golden Triangle — centered in Afghanistan and where the largest amount and highest quality opium is produced and distributed — the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and NATO requested that Turkey organize another training program in 2008.
Turkey also organized four training programs for Afghan officers in cooperation with the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in order to strengthen the capabilities of official Afghan bodies in combating drug trafficking. Later, Pakistani police officers were also trained in the programs. Police officers from another key part of the Golden Triangle, Tajikistan, have also received training in Turkey.
Courses on HIV/AIDS and officer exchanges
TADOC also organizes courses on HIV/AIDS, training representatives from Balkan countries such as Romania, Serbia and Macedonia.
In a capacity-building program in the western Balkans and Mediterranean region through the targeted drug law enforcement exchange (Lex-Pro), which was organized under the leadership of UNODC, police officers from countries like France, Belgium, Holland and Egypt came to Turkey for training programs. TADOC officers also traveled to those countries to take courses on drug trafficking.
In a recent report released by the Turkish Security General Directorate, Turkey was listed as the second most successful country, after China, in exposing illegal drug trade. Last year alone, the total volume of illegal drugs seized in Turkey exceeded the volume seized in all European countries.
The report states that in 444 operations conducted in 2007, 4,842 drug smugglers were caught while 2,067 kilograms of marijuana, 63 kilograms of heroin, 141 kilograms of opium, 11 kilograms of cocaine, 3,444 Captagon pills and 627,591 Ecstasy pills were found. The report also showed that the number of drug smugglers increased by 48 percent compared to statistics from 2006.
16 August 2008, Saturday
ERCAN YAVUZ ANKARA
Source: Today’s Zaman, 16 August 2008