UNODC Trains Officers from the Department of Excise and Taxation, Khyber Pakhtunkwa in Drug and Precursor Identification 

 

A three-day training course on 'Drug and Precursors Identification' was held in Islamabad 10 - 12 February. The course was organized for junior field officers of the Excise and Taxation-Department of Khyber Paktunkhwa through UNODC's Sub-Programme on Illicit Trafficking and Border Management. 

This training course aimed to strengthen law enforcement agencies' basic knowledge of precursor and chemical identification for the purpose of interdicting illicit trafficking of these substances. 30 junior rank officers from several districts of the province attended. 

This was the first time this kind training has been provided to the Excise and Taxation Department of Khyber Paktunkhwa. The department has a wide presence in the province, and increasing capacity of this agency to interdict and investigate the movement of drugs and precursors in its area of responsibility is an important element in interdicting the flow of drugs and precursors through Khyber Pakhtunkwa. According to the National Drug Use Survey conducted by UNODC, this province has the highest prevalence of drug users in Pakistan. The geographic prevalence of drug use is closely connected with the drug trafficking routes from neighbouring Afghanistan.