West and Central Asian countries agreed to conduct the regional operation "Reflex-2019" on countering New Psychoactive Substances (NPS)
29 April, Almaty, Kazakhstan
On 29 April 2019 in Almaty, Kazakhstan the UNODC Regional Programme for Afghanistan and Neighbouring Countries jointly with the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre (CARICC) convened a de-briefing on results of the regional operation "Reflex-2018" and briefing for the operation "Reflex-2019" on fighting NPS and synthetic drugs.
The meeting was attended by 26 senior experts on illicit drug control from law enforcement agencies and customs services from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as well as representatives from CARICC and UNODC.
During the event, CARICC has informed that operation "REFLEX-2018" was conducted successfully with seizures of over 6,000 kg of New Psychoactive Substances and synthetic drugs (with major seizures made by Russian Federation). Participating countries expressed strong support to the regional operation "REFLEX" and further have reviewed modalities of the "REFLEX-2019" including means of communication, form of reporting as well as agreed on tentative dates of the active stage of the operation.
The meeting was organized under the auspices of the UNODC Regional Programme for Afghanistan and Neighbouring Countries with funding from the European Union and Finland.