Directive No. 07-BNV(12) on Strengthening Work to Prevent and Control Narcotics

 DIRECTIVE

ON STRENGTHENING THE WORK OF PREVENTION, CONTROL AND SUPPRESSION OF DRUGS 

On January 29, 1993, the Government issued Resolution No. 06-CP on strengthening guidance for the work of prevention, control and suppression of drugs. In order to implement Resolution No. 06 of the Government, the Ministry of Interior requests all General Directorates, Military Commands, Public Security Departments of provinces and cities to immediately carry out the following policies and measures:

I. STRENGTHENING GUIDANCE FOR THE WORK OF PREVENTION, CONTROL AND SUPPRESSION OF DRUGS:

1. Organize guidance to combine with household registration work to grasp the situation and list individuals and organizations injecting, inhaling, and consuming drugs, with plans for surveillance, arrest, prosecution, and strict handling, eliminating immediately any gathering places for such activities.

2. List and statistically analyze individuals who inject, inhale, and consume drugs, coordinate and support the Department of Veterans Affairs and Social Welfare in classifying and organizing drug addicts into detoxification centers managed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Social Welfare, public security agencies at all levels shall cooperate and maintain order to assist the Centers in effectively implementing their tasks.

3. Regularly inspect and impose penalties according to Article 4 (Clause 2) of Decree No. 141 of the Council of Ministers against those who violate regulations and fail to correct their behavior after being warned.

4. Organize strict supervision over the transportation and circulation of various types of drugs throughout the territory, especially in opium cultivation areas, border regions, ports of entry, seaports, international airports, intensify surveillance, detection, investigation, and propose prosecution for cases of illegal production, storage, purchase, sale, and transportation of drugs, and organizations using drugs (Articles 96a and 203 of the Penal Code and Joint Circular No. 07 dated December 5, 1992 of the Ministry of Interior - Supreme People's Procuracy - Supreme People's Court).

5. Strengthen international cooperation in the field of drug control: Organize well the work of investigation, detection, and arrest of individuals committing crimes related to the use, sale, storage, and transportation of drugs based on international police orders; strengthen coordination with international police organizations and neighboring countries in detecting, investigating, and handling drug-related crimes; coordinate with the Chinese Public Security Bureau to discuss measures to implement Article 8 of the Vietnam-China Agreement dated November 7, 1991 on cooperation in combating smuggling and illegal transportation of opium and other drugs across borders.

6. Organize the destruction of opium and other drug products obtained.

Local public security agencies shall report to the Ministry the quantities of opium and other drugs currently held, the amount of opium destroyed in 1993. General Directorate II shall issue regulations on the destruction of drugs according to the decision of the Council of Ministers and coordinate with judicial, health, customs authorities to understand the quantities of opium and other drugs held by these sectors, and jointly study and draft regulations on destruction to be implemented nationwide.

7. Strengthen the work of building legal documents on prevention and control of drugs. In the short term, it is necessary to systematize some current legal documents on drug prevention, print them for guidance to people's public security forces to implement. While studying proposals to amend certain articles of the Penal Code, it is necessary to study and coordinate with relevant sectors to draft Government Decrees or joint circulars stipulating and guiding the handling of individuals who use, inject, and are addicted to opium and other drugs, organizations using opium and other drugs, guiding the organization of compulsory detoxification for drug addicts; organize seminars on international conventions on drug prevention and control, particularly the 1988 conventions, to propose to the Government directions and contents for participation in international conventions on drug prevention and control.

8. Coordinate and support relevant sectors in mobilizing and persuading mountain ethnic groups to completely stop growing poppy and switch to planting other crops.

9. Coordinate with cultural information agencies, local and central media to strengthen propaganda on various aspects of drug prevention work, results of handling illegal acts and crimes related to the use, production, storage, transportation, and illegal sale of opium and other drugs.

II. ON ORGANIZATIONAL GUIDANCE FOR DRUG PREVENTION AND CONTROL WORK:

1. Establish a Steering Committee for Drug Prevention and Control Work responsible for guiding, inspecting, urging, coordinating the forces of General Directorates, Military Commands, Public Security Departments of provinces and cities to implement the above program of drug prevention and control, drafting legal documents on drug prevention; implementing tasks guided by the National Steering Committee for Drug Prevention.

The Steering Committee for Drug Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Interior is headed by the Director of the General Directorate of Police, with one Deputy Director of General Directorate I, II, IV, and Deputy Commander of Border Defense as Vice Chairmen, and the Directors of Departments C12, C13, C14, C15, C16, V11 as members; those who have been assigned by the Ministry to participate in the inter-ministerial working group on drug prevention (of the Government) will assist.

2. Public Security Departments of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall assign Deputy Directors in charge of police work to join the Steering Committee for Drug Prevention and Control of the Provincial People's Committees; at the same time, they shall serve as heads of provincial drug prevention committees.

The organizational structure of the provincial drug prevention committee shall be decided by the Director of the Provincial Public Security Department.

III. ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES IN DRUG PREVENTION WORK:

1. The People's Public Security forces must participate in all work related to preventing and combating drug abuse according to the program of the National Steering Committee for Drug Prevention and Control. However, the main tasks of the public security forces are to detect, investigate, handle, and prosecute cases of drug trafficking, drug injection sites, and drug consumption. Therefore, it is necessary to organize and strengthen specialized units against drug abuse at various levels of economic police (Ministry, province, city, district, county) in all aspects to meet these tasks. In areas where drug smuggling is significant and involves foreigners, the economic security force (General Department I) also needs to assign dedicated personnel to investigate and combat drug trafficking abroad.

2. The General Department of Police is the lead agency responsible for coordinating activities according to the directives of the Steering Committee for the National Program on Drug Prevention and Control; assisting the Deputy Minister of Interior who is the Deputy Director of the National Program on Drug Prevention and Control in directing, guiding, and coordinating with relevant sectors to implement the contents and objectives of the National Program on Drug Prevention and Control; guiding the people's police forces to control, detect, establish files, and handle violations and crimes related to the production, storage, purchase, transportation, and use of opium and other drugs.

3. General Department I organizes the supervision and detection of the transportation of opium and other drugs at airports and international border gates. Conducts investigations and surveillance of foreign drug trafficking cases discovered through management work.

4. The Border Guard Command organizes the supervision, detection, and apprehension of individuals involved in the transportation and circulation of various types of drugs in border regions, border gates, ports, and cross-border trails.

5. The Logistics General Department of the Public Security People's Force allocates funds and equipment for the operation of the Drug Prevention and Control Task Force of the Ministry; strengthens the provision of equipment for direct investigation forces against drug abuse; collaborates with relevant sectors to research and produce medications for drug rehabilitation treatment for suspects and convicts.

6. The General Department for Building the Public Security Force directs and organizes propaganda and reporting on drug prevention and control work, promptly rewarding those who have made significant contributions to drug prevention and control efforts.

7. Provincial and centrally-administered municipal public security forces are responsible for directing and implementing all drug prevention and control tasks in their localities according to the directives of the Ministry.

Upon receipt of this Directive, all General Departments, the Border Guard Command, and provincial and centrally-administered municipal public security forces shall immediately implement it and report on the implementation of this Directive to the Ministry (through General Department II) before May 30, 1993.

The General Department of Police will provide guidance on statistical forms, reports, inspections, and urging the implementation of this Directive, compiling the situation to report to the leadership of the Ministry.