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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Answer

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations, and when, his Department has made to the Governments of (a) Afghanistan, (b) the Bahamas, (c) Bolivia, (d) Brazil, (e) Burma, (f) Cambodia, (g) China, (h) Colombia, (i) Dominican Republic, (j) Ecuador, (k) Guatemala, (l) Haiti, (m) Hong Kong, (n) India, (o) Jamaica, (p) Laos, (q) Mexico, (r) Nigeria, (s) Pakistan, (t) Panama, (u) Paraguay, (v) Peru, (w) Taiwan, (x) Thailand, (y) Venezuela and (z) Vietnam, concerning the trafficking of illegal drugs to the United Kingdom through their territories; and if he will make a statement. [67696] Mr. Straw: We are in regular dialogue with the Governments of countries where Class A drugs are produced or trafficked. Our strategy has been to build local law enforcement capability to interdict the supply of drugs destined for the UK as close to its source as possible. In Afghanistan, which is the source of 90 per cent. of the heroin found on the UK's streets, we are co-ordinating international anti-narcotics assistance. By working with international partners and agencies we aim to eliminate opium poppy, build institutions, increase law enforcement capacity, assist the creation of alternative livelihoods and address growing drug demand. The UK also provides anti-drugs assistance, in the form of training and equipment, to Afghanistan's neighbours and other countries on the heroin supply route to the UK. We also have regular contact with the Governments of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, who together produce virtually all of the world's cocaine. We are providing training and equipment for local law enforcement agencies in all three states to assist their respective Governments to tackle the problem. We are also active in supporting projects to build local capability in other South American countries through which drugs are trafficked. The Caribbean, through which much of the cocaine trafficked to the UK is transshipped, has also been the focus for much of our assistance, both bilaterally, and through multi-lateral fora.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

67696; 388 c1022-3W

Session

2001-02

Subjects

Crime prevention China Drugs Hong Kong India Pakistan Smuggling Myanmar Afghanistan Thailand Nigeria Colombia Haiti Panama Venezuela Bolivia Mexico Brazil Jamaica Vietnam Taiwan Peru Guatemala Bahamas Laos Ecuador Cambodia Dominican Republic Paraguay

Link

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