Top Drug-Fighting Officials Meet in Moscow
The Interior Ministry's under secretary for internal security, Erkki Koort, met with Russia's drug control chief, Viktor Ivanov, in Moscow yesterday, which the officials called a step forward in bringing the westward flow of illegal drugs under control.
The two discussed the rising quantity of illegal drugs flowing from Russia to Estonia, with the latter serving as both a destination and transit country for the rest of Europe, in recent years. Especially synthetic drugs, namely fentanyl, which is the cause of 80 percent of drug deaths in Estonia, have been an increasing problem.
"I believe that yesterday's meeting gave a new boost to bilateral efforts for stopping drug trafficking and increasing cooperation between agencies," Koort said.
"Whether we like it or not, Estonian drug trafficking is directly connected with Russia - a large portion of the drugs sold here and transported on to the rest of Europe seem to cross the EU border from Russia," Koort said.
Afghanistan's poppy fields are the greatest source of incoming drugs for Europe, with Russia, Central Asia and Turkey serving as transit countries for trafficking routes leading to EU borders, Koort said.