Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Le Thanh Hai has asked forces to intensify measures against the trafficking of drugs into the country through the city’s airports and ports.

Police raid on drugs hotspots should be staged regularly, Hai said, stressing that the fight against drugs is a regular, urgent, continuous and long-term task.

He made the remarks at an April 26 conference reviewing five years of implementing the Politburo’s decree on strengthening the leadership in drug prevention and control.

At the event, Minister of Public Security General Tran Dai Quang, said that municipal authorities should strictly follow resolutions and policies of the Party, the National Assembly, and the Government on drug prevention and control in order to make the fight successful.

The Minister, who is also standing deputy head of the steering committee for crime and social evil prevention, also asked the city to speed up the publicity of the work and increase the capacity of relevant agencies.

City forces have brought to light 8,034 cases relating to the illegal use and smuggling of drugs over the past five years. These cases involved the arrest of 16,140 offenders and the seizure of 142kg of meth and 123kg of heroin.-VNA