Romania will have a Drug Offenders Register
Elena Enache, 26.03.2024, 13:50
Romania will have a Drug Offenders Register as of January 1, 2025, after President Klaus Iohannis promulgated the law providing for its establishment. The project was proposed by the Liberals in September 2023 and was subsequently adopted by the Bucharest Senate at the end of last yea and by the Chamber of Deputies last month. Justice Minister Alina Gorghiu explained that this Register has a preventive role, and that through it the Police will be able to supervise and identify drug traffickers faster. Depending on the punishment they receive in Court, drug traffickers will be included in the Register from 5 to 20 years, so that the Police will know in which case there is a risk that the monitored person sells prohibited substances again, the minister said. Minors will not be included in the Register, except for the cases where a Court orders this following a criminal trial.
Alina Gorghiu added that the Drug Offenders Register is a means of identifying and monitoring people who have committed crimes in the sphere of drug trafficking, a useful tool in the fight against this scourge. According to the minister, the safety of Romanian citizens, especially of the young people, comes first, and combating drug trafficking remains a priority.
All institutions with attributions in the field must be involved in the effort to eradicate the scourge of drug use and drug trafficking, Interior Minister Cătălin Predoiu, said in turn. According to Predoiu, in addition to the effort to combat this plague, prevention and education are equally important. He announced that the states of the world would create a coalition, at the initiative of the United States, to combat drug trafficking, which has become a global phenomenon, given that no state can fight alone against this scourge. That is why, the minister also said, international cooperation is important in terms of combating it, being a long-term effort.
He also stated that, each year, in the world, 80 new types of drugs are produced by organized crime, and the Romanian Police is making efforts to adapt to the new tactics and strategies used by organized crime. He gave assurances that actions to combat drug trafficking are launched weekly in Romania. Last year alone, more than 1 ton of drugs was seized and the largest seizure of Ecstasy tablets in the history of anti-drug structures in Romania – more than 230,000 tablets – was made, Predoiu said. The Drug Offenders Register that Romania will have from next year will be organized by the Interior Ministry and kept by the units of the Romanian Police, through structures specialized in this field. (EE)
