Kazakhstan, US to strengthen cooperation against drug trafficking

Kazakhstan and the United States plan to expand intelligence sharing to combat the illicit trafficking of narcotics and precursor chemicals.

Officials from the relevant agencies of both countries met in Astana to discuss closer cooperation, with a particular focus on exchanging operational information, using analytical tools, and improving joint working standards, Caliber.Az reports, citing Kazakh media.

According to Kazakhstan's Interior Ministry, authorities detected nearly 4,000 drug-related offences during the first half of the year.

Police dismantled six organised criminal groups and 15 clandestine drug laboratories, and seized almost 10 tonnes of illegal narcotics.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov