On September 23 and 24, 2015, in Tsaghkadzor, the U.S. Embassy, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. European Command held the first of three annual conferences designed to strengthen the capabilities of law enforcement agencies to actively and effectively investigate and prosecute drug-trafficking organizations who seek to exploit Armenia’s borders, in order to halt the flow of drugs through Armenia.  The genesis of this conference series were the seizures of significant quantities of heroin at the Armenian-Iranian and Georgian-Azerbaijani borders in 2014, as well as the increase in the amount of methamphetamine trafficked through Armenia, the ease of manufacturing the drug, and the problems associated with this drug.

The American faculty for this conference included the Honorable Larry Burns, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of California; Kelly L. Harris, Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice; Paul S. Hackett, Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration; and John J. Lulejian, Resident Legal Advisor with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training.  

 

  -   Human Rights