Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Vakhtang Gomelauri, Minister of Finance of Georgia, Lasha Khutsishvili, UNODC Regional Representative to Central Asia, Ashita Mittal and other representatives of various international organizations attended the 10 year anniversary celebration of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) - World Customs Organization (WCO) joint project - “Container Control Programme (CCP)”.
Vakthang Gomelauri addressed the invited guests with a welcoming speech.
“First of all, on behalf of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I would like to thank you for the implementation of the project. We appreciate the efforts done by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the fruitful cooperation.
I would like to emphasize the support provided by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Customs Organization over the years and its importance in developing the capacity of the Ministry. Within the framework of your joint initiative, a container control program has been implemented in Georgia since 2012, which promotes regional cooperation between the Black Sea and South Caucasus countries in combatting transnational organized crime.
As a result of the direct involvement of the joint group within the Container Control Program, up to 180 kilograms of narcotic substance “Heroin”, as well as more than 5 kilograms of the substance – “Cocaine” and a large amount of drugs of various denominations, which were intended for the illegal distribution in Georgia and in different countries of the world, were seized" - said the Minister of Internal Affairs.
Regional Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Central Asia - Ashita Mittal and the Minister of Finance of Georgia – Lasha Khutsishvili also addressed the guests.
Lasha Khutsishvili evaluated the results achieved within the project and thanked the Minister of Internal Affairs and partner organizations for their fruitful cooperation.
Minister of Internal Affairs - Vakhtang Gomelauri, Minister of Finance - Lasha Khutsishvili and UNICEF Regional Representative in Central Asia - Ashita Mital awarded the participant employees of the Container Control Program from Central Criminal Police Department, Patrol Police Department and Ministry of Finance with certificates and symbolic gifts.
At the end of the event, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the United Nations and the Ministry of Finance.
The project has been carried out in close cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Finance of Georgia since 2012. It aims to improve the control mechanisms of containers coming from high-risk countries through experience sharing, capacity building and technical development.
