《國際警務》：
　　Operation " Cold Remedy"
　　This is a multi-agency operation among Hong Kong Customs, Department of Health of Hong Kong, the U.S. DEA/HKCO and other overseas authorities to monitor the export of pseudoephedrine,a precrusor chemical for the production of methamphetamine. The operahon was initiated when four shipments of 19.2 million cold tablets containing pseudoephedrine were seized in the US,Panama and Mexico in early 2003. The shipments were exported under vaLid licences issued by Department of Health. There was evidence that drug traffickers imported these pseudoephedrine preparations and :illegally diverted them to the clandestine laboratories for conversion into methamphetanune, destined for the U.S. market. Intelligence also showed it was a new trend that traffickers in Mexico made use of fictitious importers to source pseudoephedrine combination products for illicit manufacturing of methamphetamine.
　　To suppress the emerging trend,Hong Kong Customs,in collaboration with Department of Health and U.S. DEA launched a joint operation coded "Cold Remedy" commenang from July 2003 to monitor export shipments of pseudoephedrine tablets. Under the joint operation, Department of Health would screen all export licences and identify those shipments involving pseudoephedrine tablets for Hong Kong Customs and the U.S. DEA's profiling and monitoring respectively. U.S.DEA would coordinate with Mexican and Panamanian authorities as well as other concemed countries through their network for tracing the movement of targeted shipments and planning enforcement actions.
　　To ensure timely exchange and effective use of intelligence, effiaent monitoring of suspiaous pseudoephedrine shipments and taking of
　　appropriate enforcement actions, a number of inihahves had been taken which included the following:
　　(a) setting up contact points for constant and immediatecommunication ;
　　(b) involving high level offiaals to show commitment of partiapating agencies and achieve better decision making;
　　(c) joint-agency approach to enhance information assessment for improved intelligence disserrunahon in supporting the operahon; and
　　(d) regular operational meetings between concerned parties to review progress, strategy and resource deployment. ( Note:two meetings had been held in Washington DC,with the attendance of senior offiaals of Hong Kong Customs,Department of Health of Hong Kong, U.S. DEA and Mexican authorities.)
　　During the 16-month operation,there were nine cases effected in Mexico and the U.S. with a total seizure of 66 million pseudoephedrine combination tablets and 19 arrests made by the Mexican U.S. authorities between September 2003 and December 2004. After a series of stringent enforcement
　　ctions taken in Central and North America,diversion activities have severely been curtailed. Intelligence indicated that drug syndicates have refrained from involving Hong Kong as a source of pseudoephedrine preparahons for their clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine.
　　Admittedly,mulh-agency cooperation is the key to success in this operation. Recognising it as a very effective tool in preventing pseudo- ephedrine preparation diversions,DEA HQ launched an inihative to request all their country offices to introduce the model to their host countries to share the effiaent practices and work together to stop the trend. While sharing Hong Kong's exemplary experience,all concemed parties agreed to extend Operahon "Cold Remedy" to ensure that the trend would not revive.
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