Hoa Binh provincial Police Department works with US Embassy on drug prevention and combat
A delegation of the US Embassy and the Counter-Narcotics Police Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security, held meetings with the provincial Police Department of Hoa Binh on December 13 and 14 on drug prevention and combat in key areas in the Northwestern province.
The delegation of the US Embassy includes Steven Vo, Chief of the Representative Office of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Vietnam, Jonathan Gandomi, Coordinator of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs under the US State Department.
The Vietnamese delegation included Major General Do Duc Binh, Vice Director of the Counter-Narcotics Police Department, and Senior Colonel Truong Quang Hai, Vice Director of the Hoa Binh provincial Police Department.
Representatives from the Counter-Narcotics Police Department and Hoa Binh provincial Police Department briefed delegates on the current situation of drug-related crime in the province.
Hoa Binh is on the gateway to the Northwestern provinces. It has two communes, namely Hang Kia and Pa Co (Mai Chau district), respectively bordering on Van Ho district (Son La) and Quan Hoa district (Thanh Hoa), which are known as two hotspots of drug-related crimes.
Senior Colonel Truong Quang Hai highlighted that the provincial Police Department considered drug-related crime a global issue, which needs joint efforts of all countries and law enforcement agencies of countries.
The provincial police seriously followed and implemented directions of the MPS on anti-drug trafficking while coordinating closely with other Northwestern provinces, especially Son La in fighting drug-related crime in the Vietnam-Laos border areas.
The delegates discussed measures to stamp out drug trafficking networks and eradicate hotspots in Hoa Binh as well as in the Northwestern provinces.
They agreed on the need to provide more professional equipment for local police forces in charge of fighting illicit drug crime while effectively implementing the coordination program between the MPS of Vietnam and the US Embassy.
