An overview of Debriefing and Evaluation Meeting of Operation Mekong Dragon V (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Operation Mekong Dragon V (OMD V), a programme cracking down on drugs and wildlife trafficking in Asia-Pacific, was very successful, participants heard at a meeting in Hanoi on November 21.
The two-day Debriefing and Evaluation Meeting of Operation Mekong Dragon V was jointly held by the General Department of Vietnam Customs and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The meeting saw the attendance of delegates from 20 customs and law enforcement agencies of 16 member nations and international organisations.
Operation Mekong Dragon was a joint action programme of customs agencies and other law enforcement bodies in the Asia-Pacific region. The operation aims to combat the illegal trade of drugs, wild animals and plants, and products from the species in the list of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Co-initiated by customs authorities of Vietnam and China, it was launched in 2018 with technical support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Asia and the Pacific (RILO AP). Five phases of the programme have been carried out so far.
Operation Mekong Dragon V was implemented from April 15 to November 16, 2023, and 1,715 cases were uncovered during the period as reported by member countries, surging 111% from the fourth phase, statistics showed.
Addressing the event, representatives of the Vietnamese and Chinese customs forces and international organisations affirmed that Operation Mekong Dragon V was one of the most successful international crime operations recently carried out.
They said the operation’s success showed the effective work of Vietnam Customs, whose cooperation was praised by international customs and law enforcement agencies.
During the operation, the police departments for drug crime investigation and environmental crime combat under the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security also coordinated with the customs force. They combined to investigate and uncover a host of complicated drug and wildlife trafficking cases.
Operation Mekong Dragon V was deployed in Vietnam with 40 national contact points, including 38 national contact points of the customs force and two of the police force. They seized 123 drugs and wildlife trafficking cases, a two-fold rise from the previous operation.
Kim Hyeon Seok, Head of RILO AP, said drugs trafficking is the main source of revenue for organised crime gangs, and fighting drug crimes is always one of the top priorities. Besides, illegal wildlife trading is also often supported by organised crime, utilizing huge resources on a large scale.
Operation Mekong Dragon was one of the most successful crackdown operations in the Asia-Pacific in terms of the numbers of members (nearly 30) and the cases. Intelligence information has been shared among countries to help fend off future drug and wildlife trafficking cases./.
