Vice President Faisal Naseem has met with representatives from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to explore blocking drug trafficking routes in the Maldives.
Faisal raised the issue of drug trafficking in the Maldives during the meeting at Hilaaleege, the vice president’s official residence, on Friday.
He stated that the Maldives government places a high value on drugs rehabilitation programmes to build a society free of drug abuse.
The vice president also reviewed issues in combating drug trafficking in the Maldives, such as effective use of the Maldives Police Service’s budget and resources, and enhancing the Maldives Police Service’s management structure and capability.
Meanwhile, the DEA and AFP delegations informed Faisal on the DEA’s current actions as well as updates from their respective regions The DEA reaffirmed its commitment to aiding the Maldives Police Service and praised the agency’s performance in counter-narcotics.
They also addressed methods to increase police officers’ professionalism in interacting with the public through more training.
The delegation informed Faisal that the DEA and AFP will collaborate closely with appropriate agencies to reduce the region’s vulnerability to drug smuggling and trafficking. They also told him that they were ready to help with any endeavour to eradicate or minimise drug-related cases in the South Asia.
Vice President Faisal thanked the group for assisting relevant agencies in improving their services by incorporating the DEA and AFP’s experience.
He stated that the Maldives government’s policies were based on combating drug addiction, preventing all types of drugs peddling and trafficking, and offering drug-addiction therapy, rehabilitation, and reintegration back into society.Faisal reaffirmed that the government’s primary objective is to address the drug usage problem.
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