UNODC, with financial support from the Russian Federation, handed over Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and mobile control platforms to the Ministry of Interior of the Kyrgyz Republic

Two sets of unmanned aerial vehicles (multi-rotor and aircraft types), as well as two mobile control platforms were transferred to the anti-drug unit as part of the UNODC project to strengthen the capacity of the Mobile Operational Teams of the Counter Narcotics Service (CNS) of the Ministry of Interior of the Kyrgyz Republic.

This event has become one of the stages in the implementation of an integrated approach to combat drug trafficking in Kyrgyzstan using innovative technologies implemented by UNODC with the financial support of the Russian Federation.

Lieutenant-General Mr. Ulan Niyazbekov, Minister of Interior of the Kyrgyz Republic, Ms. Dinara Kemelova, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, Mr. Vadim Gusev, Chargé d'Affaires of Russia Federation in Kyrgyzstan, Mr. Andrey Seleznev , Head of the UNODC Programme Office in the Kyrgyz Republic, Mr. Alexei Rogov, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, Mr. Soichiro Okawa, Deputy Ambassador of Japan to the Kyrgyz Republic and members of the interagency working group on the development of a regulatory legal framework for the development and regulation of the use of UAV complexes on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic participated at the handover ceremony.  

The participants of the ceremony got acquainted with the technical characteristics of the UAV and mobile control platforms, as well as with the progress and achievements of the project.

 

“Today's event is dedicated to the next assistance of our reliable partners and donors, which will create a real opportunity to solve problems related to drug trafficking using unmanned aerial vehicles. In order to timely solve the tasks set by the country's leadership, the ministry is constantly introducing modern technologies and methods of work to counter new challenges and threats. One of such decisions was the implementation of a joint project with the Program Office of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in the Kyrgyz Republic on the introduction of unmanned aerial vehicles in the activities of the Counter Narcotic Service of the MoI KR”, said Lieutenant-General Mr. Ulan Niyazbekov, Minister of Interior of the Kyrgyz Republic at the handover ceremony.

 

Ms. Dinara Kemelova, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic outlined: “In the last ten years, UAVs have become increasingly important in various areas of activity of states and the UN, since their scope is quite wide. Today, the use of UAVs for law enforcement is a trend of the times. The use of UAVs is expedient both in the daily life of society and in law enforcement activities, in particular, in the fight against drug crime, as well as the detection and mapping of habitats of wild or illegal cultivation of narcotic plants.”

 

According to stated Mr. Vadim Gusev, Chargé d'Affaires of Russia Federation in Kyrgyzstan: “The global drug problem does not lose its sharpness and topicality. On a global scale, the production and consumption of drugs is growing, the routes and methods of their transportation and distribution are changing, new markets are emerging. We consider close coordination and mutual assistance with our allies, including through the anti-drug services of Russia and Kyrgyzstan, to be a critical condition for the implementation of an effective anti-drug policy. I am sure that the equipment transferred today will provide invaluable assistance to the Kyrgyz law enforcement officers in their difficult service”. 

“The effectiveness of law enforcement structures around the world in recent years has lagged behind the active actions of international criminals. For a radical solution to the issue of combating crime today, new, unexpected and unconventional methods are required. Counteraction to illicit drug trafficking should be built systematically with the aim of limiting the containment of criminal gangs. And here a comprehensive, innovative approach is needed. And such a decision was the introduction of innovative technologies into the daily activities of the Anti-Drug Trafficking Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kyrgyzstan,” said Mr. Andrey Seleznev, Head of the UNODC Program Office in the Kyrgyz Republic. 

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have the ability to install specialized modules depending on the tasks. High-resolution video cameras, night vision cameras and thermal imagers, in conjunction with similar portable systems, significantly expand the capabilities of operational units in detecting, tracking, identifying storage sites, conducting special operations and detaining members of criminal communities, as well as documenting their criminal activities online, in day and night-time.

 

Mobile control platforms are equipped with life support systems and allow to perform tasks away from permanent locations for a long period of time.

The UNODC project is being implemented as part of subprogram 1 "Prevention and combating transnational organized crime" of the UNODC Regional Program for Central Asian countries.

Story in Russian language 

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For all inquiries, kindly contact Vasilina Brazhko

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UNODC Criminal Justice and PVE Project in Central Asia

UNODC PO in the Kyrgyz Republic 

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vasilina.brazhko [at] un.org