Persistently remove Nghe An from the list of key and complicated drug areas
(Baonghean.vn) - After 10 years of implementing Directive No. 13 of the Provincial Party Committee on "Continuing to strengthen leadership and direction of drug prevention and control work in the new situation", Party committees and authorities at all levels have focused on directing and implementing many solutions to improve the effectiveness of drug prevention and control in the area.
Replication of pilot models
Nghe An is a large province, with a 468.281 km long border with 3 provinces of Laos, 5 border gates and hundreds of small-scale roads, rugged and complex mountainous terrain, favorable for drug criminals to take advantage of to hide and operate, causing many difficulties for authorities in performing their duties.
On the other hand, Nghe An is also located near the Golden Triangle (Laos - Myanmar - Thailand), a major drug production area in the world, a favorable location for drug transit by road and sea with increasingly sophisticated, cunning and reckless methods and tricks of operation.
In addition, the socio-economic situation of some localities in the area, especially in mountainous districts, still has many difficulties, the level of education and legal knowledge is still limited, especially in ethnic minority areas, while the profits from drugs are large, so people are easily lured and enticed by bad elements, giving rise to many crimes and drug-related evils.
From that reality, in addition to promoting propaganda work and implementing Directive No. 13-CT/TU dated May 7, 2013, Party committees and authorities at all levels have paid attention to directing functional forces to closely coordinate with the Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations to organize many activities to guide and help the grassroots build the movement "All people protect national security", build communes, wards, towns, blocks, hamlets and villages free of social evils and drug-related crimes.
Up to now, the whole province has built and maintained the effective operation of 460 self-management steering committees, 3,802 self-management committees, 27,433 self-management groups on security and order, 41 models, typical advanced examples of the masses participating in protecting security and order. Some models have been commended and replicated nationwide by the Ministry of Public Security, such as the model "Mobilizing people to participate in transforming drug-complex areas" in Dien Bich commune (Dien Chau); the model of typical clans self-managing security and order in Quynh Luu district; the model of skillful mass mobilization in ensuring security and order in religious areas in Hung Nguyen district...
In particular, from April 13, 2022, the whole province has effectively implemented the Project to build "Drug-free border communes", contributing to cleaning up drugs in 27 border communes. From that result, the Provincial Police have expanded the Project to the remaining 65 communes in 6 border districts, aiming to gradually expand the "drug-free" border belt, towards the goal of building "Drug-free border districts".
Up to now, the whole province has 109/460 communes, wards and towns that are clean of drugs (accounting for 23.7%, an increase of 2% compared to 2013); 351/460 communes, wards and towns have drugs (accounting for 76.3%, a decrease of 2% compared to 2013), of which 321 communes, wards and towns are not key (accounting for 66.9%, an increase of 18% compared to 2013), 30 communes, wards and towns are key to drugs (accounting for 8.5%, a decrease of 29% compared to 2013).
Step up attacks and sweeps
The fight against drugs, especially in border areas, is always full of hardships and dangers, but with great determination, over the past 10 years, the authorities have discovered, fought, handled, and destroyed 817 points and 175 complex drug hotspots; organized attacks, raids, and chased away more than 40 groups of people with hot weapons, setting up camps in deep forests to organize illegal drug trafficking, killed 1 subject, and destroyed more than 50 camps.
In addition, the whole province discovered and arrested 10,917 cases/13,927 drug-related criminals, seized 940.7 kg of crystal meth, 257.6 kg of heroin, 80.7 kg of synthetic drugs, 607,051 synthetic drug pills, 127.3 kg of marijuana, 35.7 kg of opium (with a total of more than 1.5 tons of various drugs) and many weapons, money, assets, and related evidence.
The functional forces in the province have also discovered more than 400 projects and cases, eliminating large drug trafficking and transportation rings. Typically, Project 243L arrested 95 subjects, seized 120 heroin cakes; Project 319T arrested 3 subjects, seized 700 kg of crystal meth; Project 208T arrested 2 subjects, seized 50 heroin cakes; Project 519D arrested 5 subjects, seized 20 heroin cakes, 40 kg of synthetic drugs; Project 817S arrested 4 subjects, seized 120 kg of marijuana, 3 kg of crystal meth, 2,000 synthetic drug pills, 2 cars...
In the period of 2013 - 2023, the People's Procuracy at two levels prosecuted 10,322 cases/12,605 defendants; the People's Court at two levels tried 10,216 cases/12,424 defendants for drug crimes, including many major drug cases with high sentences (death penalty for 223 defendants, life imprisonment for 235 defendants, fixed-term imprisonment for 13,838 defendants). Along with that, more than 1,232 mobile drug trial sessions were also organized in key and complicated areas to propagate to the people the harmful effects of drugs, the particularly dangerous nature of this type of crime as well as the strict penalties of the law to educate, deter and prevent crime.
The province's drug prevention and control forces also increased coordination with the functional forces of Laos to destroy many drug trafficking and transportation lines from Laos to Nghe An; successfully verified and arrested many wanted drug criminals hiding in Laos. The two sides also coordinated armed attacks, chasing away many groups of subjects (both Vietnamese and Lao) with hot weapons transporting and trading drugs in the border area, contributing to gradually curbing the increase in drug crimes in the districts bordering Vietnam - Laos.
Strictly handle officials and party members who violate the law.
Implementing Directive 13-CT/TU, many agencies and units have developed and issued regulations on managing cadres and civil servants, building office culture, and organizing cadres, civil servants and employees to sign commitments not to violate social evils. The Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee also regularly pays attention to and leads the inspection and supervision of the implementation of Directive 13 in districts, cities and town Party Committees. Thereby, directing and strictly handling violating cadres and party members.
Over the past 10 years, the province has discovered and handled 102 party members, civil servants, and public employees who violated drug-related laws such as buying, selling, storing, transporting, illegally using drugs, and drug addiction.
Of which, Party-related actions have expelled 86, warned 3, suspended 5, and temporarily suspended 1 cadre and party member. Regarding government-related actions, the whole province has removed 1 from office, forced 15 to quit, and criminally prosecuted 78 cadres and party members who violated the law.
Persistently and resolutely aiming to remove Nghe An from the list of key and complicated drug-related areas in the country, the Standing Committee of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee continues to request Party committees and organizations to focus on leading, directing, and seriously and effectively implementing the policies and guidelines on drug prevention and control of the Central and the province. These include the project to improve the effectiveness of eliminating complicated drug-related areas in Nghe An in the period of 2022-2025 and the project to build a "Border commune clean of drugs".
At the same time, strengthen the work of urging, inspecting and supervising the Party Committees and superiors in the implementation of drug prevention and control tasks; promptly detect and strictly handle the responsibilities of the heads of Party Committees and authorities so that the drug situation becomes complicated in the management area; direct the review, statistics and take measures according to regulations to handle cadres and Party members whose relatives violate drug laws. At the same time, improve the effectiveness and efficiency of State management, promote the combined strength of the entire political system and society in drug prevention and control.
On February 23, 2023, the Provincial People's Committee also issued Plan 105/KH-UBND, emphasizing: The process of implementing drug prevention and control work must be associated with general crime prevention and control work and integrated with local economic and social development programs to maximize effectiveness.
The Provincial People's Committee also requested the police force to focus on effectively implementing the work of transforming key and complicated drug-related areas; solutions to maintain the number of communes, wards and towns free of drugs; and reduce the number of communes, wards and towns with drugs and key drug-related areas.
At the same time, it is recommended that functional sectors and border localities strengthen cooperation in drug prevention and control with functional forces and border provinces of Laos according to the "3-level" model from province to grassroots level to proactively prevent drug-related crimes early and from afar.
