On April 26, 2002 the British Embassy to Bulgaria and
the Center for the Study of Democracy jointly organized a
discussion hosted by Mr. Ian Soutar, the British Ambassador to
Bulgaria.
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Mr. Keith Hellawell, the UK
Anti-Drugs Coordinator delivered a lecture on the New International
Anti-Drugs Agenda. Mr. Hellawell has worked with the police for 36
years as a constable and chief constable and was appointed a UK
Anti-Drugs Coordinator in 1998. He is also adviser to the British
PM Tony Blair. |
Mr. Hellawell outlined
that few countries in Europe consider drugs as a strategic issue to
be included in their agenda and further efforts have to be made by
the EU member countries in this direction. According to Mr.
Hellawell, governments could reach an easier solution to the drugs
problem through better sharing of information and better
intelligence.
Mr. Hellawell pointed out that the Bulgarian government considers
drugs a very serious problem and that Bulgarian customs have made a
considerable record of successful operations in drugs seizure in
the last year. He also recommended that more attention is paid on
the imports of drugs from the sea ports.
The lecture was followed by a lunchtime discussion on the
experience gained by the United Kingdom authorities in this
important and challenging area of work with guests from the
Ministry of Interior, MPs, diplomats, representatives of
international organizations, and journalists. |
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