Interior Ministry official: Azerbaijan is used as a drug trafficking corridor

The drugs smuggled from the southern region are carried from the western region to Georgia and then to the European countries,” representative of Interior Ministry’s Department to Combat Trafficking Tanriverdi Aydinov told journalists. Aydinov said law-enforcement bodies were taking necessary steps to prevent it.

The ministry’s representative said according to the outcomes of 2009, there are 23,206 drug addicts in Azerbaijan. 7 of them are under 18, 3817 between 18-29, 19,382 are over 30. Aydinov said 22,708 of the drug addicts registered in the narcological dispensary are men, 498 are women.

Tanriverdi Aydinov said 616 persons, who committed drug-related crimes in Azerbaijan in 2009, were sentenced. This figure was 538 in 2008. In 2008 61 women, in 2009 85 women were held accountable for drug-related crimes.

Aydinov said 5 underage were also held accountable in 2009.

“We are concerned that children are involved in this process, drug addiction is moving towards schools. Though we are raising awareness, there are still such cases,” he said.


/APA/