Regional cooperation
key to combating drug menace
Perpetrators of drug-related crimes such as illicit trafficking and money laundering will soon feel the reach of the long arm of ASEAN's law enforcers, thanks to the efforts of the ASEAN Senior Officials on Drug Matters (ASOD). Recognising that these emerging problems transcend national boundaries and can only be kept in check by a unified ASEAN effort, ASOD spent the last year implementing and planning projects that will enable Member Countries to act in concert. Also implemented or planned were several initiatives to beef up the skills and expertise of law enforcement officers and to enable them to deal effectively with drug-related crimes.
In addition, ASOD has extended its network beyond ASEAN, to include Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, as well as, relevant international agencies such as UNDCP.
These moves, and several others scheduled in the coming year, are ASOD's response to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' call made at the 29th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in July 1996 to focus on issues such as "narcotics, economic crimes, including money laundering ... which transcend borders and affect the lives of the people in the region ..and ... affect the long-term viability of ASEAN and its individual member nations".
In June 1996, ASOD held the ASEAN Seminar on Mutual Legal Assistance, one of several projects under the Work Programme to Operationalize the ASEAN Three-Year Plan of Action on Drug Abuse Control. The project sprang from the realisation that the lack of procedures for regional mutual legal assistance was hampering efforts aimed at apprehending errant parties or stemming the flow of illegal narcotic substances across borders.
Held on a cost-sharing basis in Bandar Seri Bega-wan, the seminar was also attended by Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The Seminar set the stage for future mutual legal assistance by raising awareness of the need for regional effort, the institutions involved, as well as the methods and forms of legal assistance required. Other topics discussed were money launder-ing and the increasing sophistication of traffickers.
ASOD followed this up during its Hanoi Meeting in September 1996 with a decision for legal experts to gather at the next ASOD Meeting for further discussions. Among the items on the experts' agenda will be the legal implications and procedure for instituting mutual legal assistance arrangements in ASEAN. These could be either bilateral or regional and would take into account the different legal system in each Member Country .
Money laundering is no longer regarded as the preserve of law enforcement agencies only. Rather ASEAN Countries are now promoting awareness of the need to deal with money laundering methods and formulate laws and regulations to comply with the assets seizures and anti-money laundering provisions of the 1988 UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
The increasing sophistication of drug traffickers now demand that law enforcement officers be trained in intelligence operations. In order to strengthen na-tional and regional efforts to cope with major drug traf-ficking organizations in the region, Member Countries have agreed to a training course for human resources development entitled Training on Intelligence Operations Manage-ment and Supervision.
The project ASEAN Train-ing on Financial Investigations, to be held next year, will enhance national and regional efforts to deal with major drug trafficking organizations. This will enable law enforcers to spot money laundering activities quickly and to take effective measures against them.
A relatively new field to most ASEAN Member Countries, financial investiga-tions is becoming increasingly sophisticated and requires a sound understanding of banking, accounting and money laundering techniques. The course will be held in Malaysia on a cost-sharing basis and will be attended by Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, in addition to the Member Countries.
Precursor chemicals are those used in the production of illicit drugs, such as ephedrine, pseudo-ephedrine, acetic anhydride, etc. To stop the illicit trade in precursors as listed in the 1988 UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, ASEAN Member Countries have developed a project to equip law enforcers with the necessary expertise to identify these substances. Known as the ASEAN Seminar on Precursor Chemicals, this project also seeks to develop national institutional capacities and to strengthen regional cooperation.
Immediate steps taken to control the flow of precur-sor chemicals in ASEAN include the circulation of each country's list of precursor and essential chemicals for drug production. Each Member Country would also notify the recipient country in advance of the export or re-export of precursor and essential chemicals.