ULAN BATOR, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia has opened a training and information center at the headquarters of the country's National Police Agency (NPA), in an effort to combat drug-related crimes, local media reported Friday.
The center aims to improve people's knowledge of drug risks, reduce drug-related crimes, and prevent drug addiction in youth by organizing related trainings and providing people with information they need, Mongolian state television quoted the NPA as saying.
The number of drug-related crimes has been increasing significantly in Mongolia in recent years, the NPA said, noting that the Mongolian police have arrested 130 people linked to 67 drug-related crimes so far this year. More than 80 percent of the offenders are young people aged 18-35.
A total of 199 drug-related criminal cases were registered across Mongolia in 2018, up more than 30 percent from the previous year.
A lack of knowledge about drugs, curiosity, an attempt to make easy money and weak law enforcement are the main factors in the growth of drug-related crimes, the NPA said.
According to Mongolian law, a person who is found guilty of trafficking drugs faces at least two years in prison.
