In Belarus, control has been established over almost all psychotropic substances that appear in drug trafficking, stated Ekaterina Shelegova, Deputy Head of the Main Department for Drug Control and Combating Human Trafficking of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on STV, as reported by BELTA.
"A scheme has been developed here not only by us but also by the State Committee of Forensic Examinations. You are well aware of the situation that developed starting in 2012, when uncontrolled psychotropic substances literally flooded all of Belarus. At that time, we found a way to establish control over almost all psychotropic substances that appear in drug trafficking. As of today, 98% of all substances are prohibited. Even those substances that appear on our territory have already been included in the Republican List of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, their Precursors and Analogues, approved by the Ministry of Health," said Ekaterina Shelegova.
She drew attention to the trends in the changing structure of the drug market: "Initially, drugs of plant origin predominated – poppy straw. As soon as Decree No. 1 appeared, the drug raw material base used for the production of acetylated opium and extraction opium began to be replaced by drugs of synthetic origin. As soon as this trend of uncontrolled synthetic substances emerged, we responded with legislation and established control over almost all synthetic drugs that appear in circulation. Today, we see a trend of changing drug market conditions: hashish and marijuana predominate in seizures; regarding synthetic substances, these are alpha-PVP, mephedrone, and amphetamine."
Ekaterina Shelegova also spoke about unusual hiding places for drugs. According to her, officers managed to find drugs even in onion skins and clothing soaked in a heroin solution. Not long ago, there was a case where cocaine was transported in a rum bottle. "This is not to mention the caches equipped in cars. For example, a large batch of hashish was transported in the fuel tank of a car in Minsk in April last year," added the representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.