Watchdog: South Caucasus Important Drug Transit Area

The South Caucasus is emerging as an important transit area for drug trafficking, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), an independent body established by the UN to implement its international drug conventions, said in its annual report on March 1.

The report also notes “a significant increase in drug abuse” in the region.

“In Georgia, official estimates indicate that there are 275,000 drug abusers in the country, an increase of 80 per cent compared with the figure for 2003,” the report says.

According to the INCB report, this increase is mainly attributed to the import and illegal sale of buprenorphine tablets, or “subutex,” which is its trade name.

“In view of a significant increase in drug abuse in that subregion, the Board wishes to draw the attention of UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) to those negative developments and urges it to take active measures to assist the Governments of countries in that subregion in improving their national drug control systems, subregional cooperation and border control,” the narcotics watchdog said.

The INCB also noted that current legislation in Georgia “is insufficient to deal with the problem of money-laundering.” The INCB urges the Georgian authorities “to remedy the situation without delay.”