As many as 84 officials from Vietnam , Cambodia and Laos have gathered at a tripartite and bilateral ministerial meeting in Phnom Penh to seek ways to strengthen the fight against drug crimes.

While opening the three-day conference, Head of the Cambodian National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) Ke Kim Yan called for stronger cooperation among the three nations to achieve the target of a drug-free ASEAN by 2015.

There are flaws in cooperation in preventing the growing of opium poppy and the production, transport, smuggling and consumption of drugs in border areas of the three countries, he said.

The official stressed that the three countries have to turn the border areas into a firm wall to prevent and combat these illegal operations.

NACD’s Secretary General Moek Dara said that Cambodia is actively fighting against drug criminals. Since the beginning of 2010, 320 cases of drug offensives have been brought to light with 638 suspects, including 63 foreigners, and a large volume of drugs was seized for destruction, he said.

The Vietnamese delegation to the meeting, which will last until Dec. 10, was led by Le The Tiem, Deputy Minister of Public Security and permanent member of the National Committee for AIDS, Drugs, Prostitution Prevention and Control, while the Laotian officials were headed by Soubanh Sritthirath, Chairman of the Lao National Commission for Drug Control and Supervision./.