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Merger of law enforcement bodies will improve fighting illegal migration, drugs - minister

"The migration service did not have the force and quality the police have, and we had all inspections and missions jointly," the minister said

© Artem Korotaev/TASS

VLADIVOSTOK, April 16. /TASS/. As the Russian Migration Service and the drug turnover control authority (FSKN) have become parts of the Interior Ministry, excessive administrative barriers will no longer affect investigations and will add to effective fighting with drug-related crimes, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said in an interview with the Vesti on Saturday weekly television program.

"In fact, we have always worked in close contact, though, of course, there have been certain administrative barriers," he said.

"The migration service did not have the force and quality the police have, and we had all inspections and missions jointly," the minister said. "Now, we shall organize operations within one authority."

While commenting on authorities of the drug control watchdog, he said "there are administrative violations, where some people would not agree to treatment from drug addiction, and the FSKN staff registered those cases," but the service was not represented throughout the country. "But the police are everywhere, and it was rather expensive to bring a person to another district to process an administrative abuse."

On April 5, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin signed an order the authorities of the drug control and of the migration service are transferred to the interior ministry.

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