Brasília, November 21, 2002 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The minister of Justice, Paulo de Tarso Ribeiro, urged all the Mercosur partners, plus Chile and Bolivia, through their representatives at the IV Meeting of Authorities Active in Drug Questions, Prevention of their Improper Use, and Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts in the Mercosur (RED), to join in a concerted effort to suppress the drug traffic, principally along common borders. He recalled that, in addition to disseminating information programs to prevent and combat drugs, the current administration spent R$ 500 million (approximately US$ 143 million) to equip the Federal Police, which, in his view, has performed a heroic task. (DAS)