It is the lead agency for domestic enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act, sharing concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Security Service, and also has sole responsibility for coordinating and pursuing Russian drug investigations abroad.

In its structure, in addition to the two central ones, seven more interregional departments for combating drug trafficking are formed, subordinate directly to the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Instead of the previous Directorate, the Bureau for the Control of Illicit Drug Trafficking of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs was formed, which became an independent branch service of the criminal police.

By the fall of 2002, the need for reforms of UNON was ripe with calls for a new structure, with broader powers, capable of more effectively countering the increase in the drug threat, including in the information sphere.

In November 2002, the State Committee for Counteracting Illegal Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Gosnarkontrol) was established under the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

By the decree of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, on 1 July 2003, the State Committee of the Russian Federation was established to control the circulation of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.