Strict monitoring against narcotic drugs, says official

There is co-operation between the national and international bodies to tackle spread of online messages that promote narcotic drugs in Qatar, a senior official at the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has said.Lt Col Mohamed Abdullah al-Khater, director of the Studies and International Affairs Department at the General Directorate of Drug Enforcement at MoI, was speaking to Al Rayyan TV on Tuesday."These messages are sent randomly. The sender doesn’t know the recipient. The main purpose of these messages is obtaining money illegally. These numbers are monitored and followed up until they are blocked by the network operators,” he said.Lt Col al-Khater stressed that circulation of such messages does not mean drugs are produced in Qatar. "Everything is under control in the country. There is no drug production or cultivation in Qatar,” he explained. He urged the public to report to the General Directorate of Drug Enforcement the number from which such messages are received in order to ensure legal measures are taken and the number is blocked.The MoI official noted that intensified awareness activities are carried in order to sensitise the public about drug abuse. "Videos of drug seizure are circulated on a regular basis to make the public aware of the measures by the authorities to tackle the threats and ill effects of drugs,” he added.