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Amount of cocaine seized in RF annually grows by 20-30%

According to Ivanov, “drugs are without boundaries and, unfortunately, the inflow of cocaine from Latin America is increasing”

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, February 23 (Itar-Tass) —— The inflow of cocaine in Russia increases by 20-30 percent a year, Director of the Russian Federal Drug Control Service Viktor Ivanov told ITAR-TASS by telephone on Thursday. Ivanov is staying in Latin America on a working tour.

According to Ivanov, “drugs are without boundaries and, unfortunately, the inflow of cocaine from Latin America is increasing.”

“Over the last five years, it doubled and amounts to over 400 tons of cocaine a year. It goes through the Atlantic Region, through states of Western and Northern Africa to Europe and partially to Russia. Every year we seize 20-30 percent of cocaine more than in the previous year,” Ivanov said.

As he noted, the problem of cocaine is not most significant for Russia so far, but it is a “real scourge” for Europe as the main part of cocaine is sold exactly there.

“My consultations with colleagues in Latin America show that today there are two biggest markets of cocaine sales in the world - - the United States and Europe which have approximately five million drug addicts, each,” Ivanov said.

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