To strengthen the crackdown To the largest ever organizational restructuring Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare Drug Control Department October 2, 4:53
In response to the rapid increase in cases of illegal drug smuggling, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's Drug Control Department will embark on the largest-ever organizational restructuring next year, including the establishment of a new executive post to coordinate smuggling investigations nationwide. I decided on a policy.
Last year, a total of 595 people were arrested for smuggling illegal drugs such as stimulants and cannabis, an increase of nearly 60% from the previous year, the highest ever.
For this reason, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's Drug Control Department decided to carry out a large-scale organizational restructuring next year in an attempt to strengthen the crackdown, according to interviews with related parties.
Of these, the Kanto Shinetsu Health and Welfare Bureau in Tokyo will have a new executive post following the director of the Drug Control Department, and will play a central role in the investigation of smuggling cases.
In addition, a "smuggling countermeasures section chief" who will investigate smuggling cases will be newly assigned to the Kyushu Health and Welfare Bureau, and a "smuggling countermeasures officer" who will be in charge of cooperation with customs and police will be newly assigned to the Hokkaido Health and Welfare Bureau.
In addition, we plan to assign "information technology analysis specialists" who analyze information terminals such as smartphones used in smuggling transactions nationwide.
A total of 23 new posts will be created, making it the largest scale of organizational restructuring ever.
What is the reality of illegal drug smuggling?
The number of illegal drugs seized is also increasing.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, last year, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's Drug Control Department, police, customs, and the Japan Coast Guard seized 2649.7 kg of stimulants and 639.9 kg of cocaine, both of which were the highest ever. At the end of the trafficking price, stimulants total more than 169,580 million yen, and cocaine costs more than 12,790 million yen.
SNS on the Internet and highly anonymous sites called "Dark Web" are used for smuggling transactions. Since it is easy to purchase and receive anywhere, the scope of the investigation often goes beyond the jurisdiction of the Health and Welfare Bureau, which is the nationwide base of the Drug Control Department, making the investigation difficult.
For this reason, this organizational restructuring aims to strengthen the detection by aggregating investigation information nationwide and deepening cooperation.
In addition, according to investigators, smuggling movements have temporarily decreased due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, but the drug control department and others are increasing caution because it may increase due to the reaction.