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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Answer

Lawrie Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made in the international fight against the drug trade. [39600] Mr. MacShane: The international fight against the illicit drugs trade requires political commitment, and practical co-operation. We work bilaterally and multilaterally through the EU and the UN International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) in our efforts to combat the illegal drugs trade. The FCO's Drugs and Crime Fund (£7.3 million in 2001-02, rising to £10 million in 2002-03), supports a broad range of project work overseas, including counter- drugs work and capacity-building for law enforcement in all of the key countries concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine to the UK and Europe. FCO-funded training for overseas law enforcement agencies and UK operational co-operation with them has led to some notable drug seizures, removing some of the heroin and cocaine consignments destined for the UK and Europe. We have just strengthened our financial commitment to the work of UNDCP with a further contribution of £2.34 million for counter-narcotics and capacity-building project work in Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, South-eastern Europe, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

381 c865W;381 c866W; 39600

Session

2001-02

Question not reached

Yes

Subjects

Crime Finance Drugs International cooperation UN Drug Control Programme Drug seizures

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk