By Xinhua
Vienna : A UN report said on Tuesday that the world drug markets have undergone "significant and positive" changes, and drug-related crimes have been under effective control.
Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said in a statement that "the run-away train of drug addiction has slowed down. For almost all drugs, cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamines, there are signs of overall stability, whether we speak of production, trafficking or consumption."
The 2007 World Drug Report said coordinated drug law enforcement by the international community had driven up the volumes of drug seizures.
"More than 45 percent of the cocaine produced in the world is now being intercepted, up from 24 percent in 1999, and more than a quarter of all heroin, against 15 percent in 1999, is seized," said the report.
However, "Africa is under attack" as cocaine traffickers from Colombia and heroin smugglers in Afghanistan were seeking new routes through Africa, the official said.
He called for a quick address of this threat in a bid to stamp out organized crime, money-laundering and corruption and to prevent the spread of drug across Africa.
Meanwhile, due to deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, opium production in 2006 reached 6,100 tons, 49 percent higher than the previous year, according to the report.