Czech-German officials address cross-border drug smuggling

The Czech and German interior ministers met in Prague on Thursday to discuss means of curbing drug-smuggling across the common border. Bavaria and Saxony report a steep rise in drug trafficking from the neighbouring Czech Republic. The authorities say the problem concerns mainly the home-made drug pervitin, known in Germany as Crystal, and cheap marihuana, smuggled across the border both by Czechs and German tourists. There have even been cases of German dealers paying Czechs to come and make the drug pervitin in Germany. The two sides have agreed to intensify cooperation between customs officials, police and the judiciary.