Mexican drugs pose 'no direct threat' to Russia

Mexican drug cartels do not have direct cocaine supplies to Russia, according to Mexico and Russia’s data, Russian Federal Drug Control Service head Viktor Ivanov said on Tuesday. “We have seized drugs in the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and even in the United States of America. There were no seizures in Mexico, but this does not exclude the possibility that such supplies will appear in the future,” Ivanov, who is touring Latin America, said at the meeting with Mexican police officials. Mexico, which is ranked the world’s 12th largest economy, is facing growing drug consumption. “Mexico annually produces about 350 tons of opium which is equivalent to 35 tons of heroin,” Ivanov said. During his visit to Mexico, Ivanov made an agreement with the country’s anti-drug officials that they will share information between the two countries on possible drug trafficking from Mexico. Ivanov also said that according to information from his “American colleagues,” Afghanistan has started heroin trafficking to Western countries. The drug controls chief also said that Russia did not support the U.S.-backed anti-drug trafficking plan which suggests creating drug control units in Central Asian states, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Russia, however, insists that it is necessary to tackle Afghan opium crops since it is the “cause,” while the Central Asian states that are used as transit routes for Afghan drugs are just “consequences.” “The United States plan proposes tackling the consequences, but not the cause…what makes no sense,” Ivanov added. One of the main traffic routes for Afghan heroin and opium goes through Kyrgyzstan and into Russia where it is further distributed throughout Europe.