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INTERIOR SECURITY MOVES AGAINST DRUG SMUGGLERS, STATE COUNCIL RESCINDS PERSONAL DRUG ALLOWANCES FOR MEIDAONESE TRAVEL
"Songguo has a responsibility to the people of Marirana", Foreign Minister Says as Interior Security Service Cracks Down
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31 July 2017 08:00 | Tianjing, Songguo
The Songhua government took new steps today to curb drug routes between Songguo and the troubled nation of Marirana, where the narcotics trade has helped fund a bloody civil war. The State Council has, effective at midnight, revoked the typical personal allowance of drugs that Songhua tourists are permitted to bring to Meidao. While the two countries have long had an agreement that allows Songhua citizens visiting the island nation to bring in small amounts of substances which Meidao considers illegal or highly controlled, international observers have long been concerned that this helps lubricate the illicit drug trade. With violence in Marirana leaving the international community appalled and Asteria seemingly unable to quench the conflict, many have made calls for the Songhua government to do more to control the flow of drugs both into and out of the country. The Interior Security Service and airport police will now be screening all Meidao-bound passengers for drugs, and suspected smugglers may be subject to confiscation, fines, jail time, or labor sentences.
The surprise move comes after a summer that saw shaky numbers for many airlines, travel agencies, and cruise lines, with recent political and market turmoil rattling the confidence of Songhua tourists and scaring many off from going on summer holiday in the Eastern Hemisphere. The new drug restrictions are expected to particularly depress the number of students holidaying in Meidao this summer, and many hotels and airlines are bracing for another difficult year ahead, as the Foreign Ministry made clear that even more measures may soon be taken to try and put pressure on drug-trafficking networks going both in and out of the Asterias and especially on those tied to the Mariranan conflict.
The Interior Security Service also announced it would be taking steps to seriously curtail narcotics imports from the Asterias, as Songguo remains one of the world's largest drug importers and many suspect that Mariranan cartels and rebel groups are supplying their drugs to the Songhua market. This manifested in the early hours today as Interior Security vans and helicopters raided the Port of Beigang, seizing two ships identified as bringing in improperly permitted and sourced marijuana, and with further arrests in several airports as "significant" quantities of high-grade opium and a number of suspected smugglers were seized, according to an Interior Security Service spokesperson. The Interior Security Ministry's Financial Bureau also announced it would be coordinating with the Foreign Ministry and the Sensitive Affairs Bureau to target suspected money launderers and help keep Mariranan "blood money" out of the Songhua banking system.
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