AKIPRESS.COM - An OSCE-supported two-day international seminar aimed at countering the illicit trafficking of new psychoactive substances concluded in Almaty, Kazakhstan on April 21.

The event was co-organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the US Embassy in Kazakhstan for some 45 participants representing the Parliament, the Presidential Administration, the Secretariat of Security Council, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Constitutional Council, the Supreme Court, the Health and Social Services Ministry, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the European Union, the US Drug Enforcement Agency and the Central Asian Regional Information Coordination Center for Combating Illicit Trafficking of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and their Precursors (CARICC).

International experts from Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, the United States of America and Uzbekistan shared their experiences.

Participants developed recommendations on how to counter the illicit trafficking of new psychoactive substances and discussed Kazakhstan’s draft law on state control over new psychoactive substances and countering their illicit distribution. The draft law was prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and based on international experience.

The event is part of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana's activities to build the host country’s capacities to prevent and counter transnational organized crime with a specific focus on countering the illegal trafficking of new psychoactive substances and synthetic drugs.