DUSHANBE, June 10, Asia-Plus  -- A two-day meeting of an expert group for coordinating a draft agreement on cooperation in combating illicit weapons trafficking opened at the CIS Executive Committee in Minsk, Belarus on June 10.    

Ms. Marina Gutsalo, a spokeswoman for the CIS Executive Committee, told Asia-Plus today that preparation of that document is provided for by an interstate program for joint crime-prevention measures designed for 2005-2007.   

According to her, it is planned to create a database of transnational criminal rings involved in illicit weapons trafficking.  “It will receive information about such gangs from all CIS states and law enforcement agencies of each of the CIS states will be able to use this database,” the spokeswoman said, noting that more than 46,000 crimes related to illicit weapons trafficking were registered within the CIS last year.