More than 4 tons of drug-containing plants destroyed in July in the Vitebsk region

August 15, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. More than 4 tons of narcotic-containing plants were destroyed in July in the Vitebsk region, the information and public relations department of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee informed a BELTA correspondent.

   Measures to identify and destroy wild-growing cannabis and poppy in unowned areas, landfills, as well as persons engaged in their cultivation, are carried out by police officers within the framework of the special program "Poppy" from June 1 to August 31. In July alone, 338 cases of illegal sowing of poppy and cannabis were detected in the region, covering an area of almost 4.8 thousand square meters, and 4.2 tons of narcotic-containing plants were destroyed. 166 individuals were brought to administrative responsibility. For example, a 30-year-old unemployed resident of Postavy, who was found to have 1.5 kg of poppy straw, and a 33-year-old resident of Chashniki, previously convicted of illegal drug possession, came to the attention of law enforcement officers. He was found with more than 2 kg of undried poppy straw.

   In January-July, more than 230 crimes related to the circulation of narcotic and psychotropic substances were detected in the Vitebsk region. Of these, more than 60 are related to drug trafficking. More than 50 residents of the region have been brought to criminal responsibility for storing prohibited substances. The majority of them are young people aged 18 to 35.

   In accordance with the legislation, criminal liability for illegal storage of narcotic drugs is up to 5 years of imprisonment, and for trafficking - up to 15 years of imprisonment, the Internal Affairs Directorate noted. -0-