INTERNATIONAL ACTION ON DRUGS DEMANDED

Drug problems in the North-east can be solved only by international action
to target suppliers, Britain's drugs tsar said yesterday.

National anti-drugs coordinator Keith Hellawell was speaking at an
international conference of police chiefs in Aberdeen. He said law enforcers
throughout the world needed to work together to end the narcotics menace.

The former chief constable told delegates at the European Policing Executive
Conference it was also essential to prevent large quantities of illegal
drugs like heroin being supplied to areas like the North-east.

It was not sufficient to arrest drug-dealers and seize drugs, he said.

"We tend to measure the success we have had so far by how many people have
been arrested for dealing, or the weight of drugs which have been
confiscated.

"There is no doubt that those figures are increasing each year.

"But, as the purity of the drugs remains high and the price has reduced
substantially over the last few years, these methods are not having the
effect that we would wish.

"Drugs are still available to young people in school playgrounds, in clubs,
at home and on the streets."

Mr Hellawell said he aimed to reduce the availability of drugs on the
streets by the Millennium.

"My philosophy is: 'Let's have a look right through the supply chain, where
the drugs are grown and manufactured before they become available on the
streets of Aberdeen'.

"The closer we can get to stopping the drugs at source, the better it will
be."

He said much of the heroin sold in Aberdeen and the surrounding area was
grown in Afghanistan. That was difficult to target because the regime was
unstable.

But 80% of the heroin grown there was processed in Turkey. There
international operations have had substantial success in apprehending
members of key families.

Mr Hellawell said levels of international intelligence and co-operation were
better than ever, but some of the necessary action could be taken only by
the governments of the countries concerned.

He intended to put pressure on particular countries where production and
processing of drugs is taking place and called for international resolve to
tackle the problem.

Mr Hellawell denied the United Kingdom would withdraw trade or call for an
international embargo against countries that were reluctant to participate.

Employees of North-east businesses who used drugs were likely to cause a
considerable impact on productivity, he told delegates.

"I would like companies to assess the level of absenteeism due to drug use
and the number of accidents at work caused by this," the drugs tsar added.

Mr Hellawell told delegates he supported mandatory drug-testing in the
workplace, although it should be part of a health-and-safety policy rather
than a punitive measure.

He said tests carried out in Scotland on road-accident victims showed a
seven or eight-fold rise in the number with illegal drugs in their bodies.

"We are examining the possibility of roadside testing, but it is a long and
complicated issue."

The anti-drugs supremo also expressed concern about the lack of facilities
for drug detoxification in the North-east.

Last week, doctors in Aberdeen expressed concern about the lack of
facilities for drug-abusers in Grampian.

Mr Hellawell said he was well aware of the drug problem in oil-rich
Aberdeen, which has been called the heroin capital of Scotland.

"It flies in the face of the idea that only poor people from inner cities
become attracted to drugs," he said.

He added that anti-drugs statements by pop stars and other famous figures
would have a positive effect on young people, but good advice from parents
and teachers was a more important influence.

Checked-by: "Rolf Ernst"