A delegation of the Thai Office of the Narcotics Control Board led by its Secretary-General and Police Lieutenant General Krisna Polananta on September 13 had a working session with Senior Lieutenant General and Deputy Minister of Public Security Le The Tiem who is also a member of the Vietnam National Committee for AIDS, Drug and Prostitution Prevention and Control.

At the meeting, the two sides agreed to continue boosting bilateral cooperation to prevent drug abuse and drug-related crimes through tourism activities between Vietnam and Thailand.

Mr Tiem said the Vietnamese people’s police force have taken strong measures to prevent drug abuse, achieving many significant results in this field. Vietnam has mobilised all-out efforts from different branches, sectors and the entire society to make people fully aware of the need to engage in drug control activities.

Vietnam has basically cleaned up opium and cannabis-growing areas.

Notably, police, customs officers and border guards have closely co-ordinated in the fight against drug-related crimes and illegal transport of drugs into Vietnam.

Annually, Vietnam detects more than 10,000 cases involving in 20,000 drug-related criminals and confiscated a huge volume of narcotic substances.

For his part, Mr Krisna Polananta highlighted the drug control achievements Thailand has recorded in recent times. Vietnam and Thailand share many similarities in drug control activities and Vietnam has accumulated good experiences in this field. The Thai Royal Government will be very happy to see drug control cooperation between the two countries  further develop, Mr Krisna Polananta stressed.