CIS EXPERTS TO DRAFT COLLECTIVE ANTI-DRUG MEASURES.

MINSK, February 2 (Itar-Tass) - Experts meet at the CIS headquarters
in Minsk on Tuesday to draft a cooperation accord of CIS members on
control of drug addiction and drug-related crimes.

A spokesman at the CIS Executive Secretariat told Itar-Tass that the
expert meeting will also handle a draft statute to set up an
inter-state centre for fighting drug addiction and
drug-trafficking.

Drug-related crimes were on rise in the CIS in 1997. Their rates
increased 17 per cent in Armenia as against 1996, 41 per cent in
Byelorussia, six per cent in Kirgizstan, ten per cent in Moldova and
91 per cent in Russia.

The trend persisted into 1998 in all CIS countries except for
Azerbaijan.

Most of the increase in this category of crimes was seen in Kazakhstan
and Tajikistan.