Main Drug Enforcement Department

The Main Drug Enforcement Department is a separate structural unit within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan in charge for administering operations and search in the field of combating illegal traffic in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors, and arranging activities of relevant units within area police departments and specialized police forces based on the analysis of drug-related crime rate.

Responsibilities of the Main Drug Enforcement Department

• Operations, search and pre-emptive measures aimed at studies, analysis, prevention and exposure of drug-related crimes in the country, administering activities of regional divisions, area and special police services in executions of functions specified by the legislation, as well as the legal rules and provisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).
• Analysis of drug traffic situation in the country, ongoing and long-term forecasts of the crime rate in this sphere, drafting proposals aimed at improvement of the performance.
• Coordination of activities of regional branches, municipal and district police services and transportation police units in the course of intelligence and search operations.
• Pursuant to the established procedure, collection of information from relevant national ministries and committees pending further analysis and inclusion into the National Database.

Legal grounds for combating traffic in narcotic drugs are specified in the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Traffic in Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Their Precursors (adopted on June 28, 2005), Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the Actions to Combat Drug Abuse and Illegal Traffic in Narcotic Drugs (adopted on August 26, 1996), relevant resolutions by the Cabinet of Ministers, as well as the MIA orders and directives.

Pursuant to the Presidential Decree on implementation of the national Law mentioned above (signed on August 4, 1999) the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan adopted Resolution No.71 (dd.: April 17, 2000) providing for establishment of the National Database at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan to keep records on the persons involved in illegal traffic in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors, as well as drug addicts. The Resolution also specified procedure of submitting the information to the Database and its further processing.The Department was founded as a new-formed police service back on February 16, 1992 under the title of Department on Combating Drug Abuse and Drug Traffic. Pursuant to Decree No.83 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued on June 20, 2004 the service was upgraded to the Main Drug Enforcement Department.