European Conference Targets Drug Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe

INTERNATIONAL March 1995

The Third Meeting of the Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies (HONLEA) convened in early Feb. in Vienna to discuss ways to stem the rise in drug trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe (United Nations Information Service, "Measures to Address Stepped-Up Drug Trafficking in Eastern, Western Europe Recommended by Meeting of Drug Law Enforcement Agencies," Feb. 9, 1995).

The countries involved in the meeting agreed that Latin America is a major source of the increasing drug trafficking, and that countries should establish a list of people, vessels, and flights that are likely to be transporting cocaine, make and maintain contact with existing sources in order to keep files on possible traffickers, and lower the standards for prosecution of money launderers.

Participants in the meeting also stressed the need for intergovernmental cooperation, especially in border areas, and the need to protect developing democracies from the influence of drug trafficking organizations.