DUSHANBE, February 8, Asia-Plus — Tajik law enforcement authorities seized some 553 kilograms of narcotics in January, which nearly two times more than in January 2007, according to the Drug Control Agency.
The totaled included some 110 kilograms of heroin and 379 kilograms. In January 2007, some 293 kilograms of drugs, including 109 kilograms of heroin and 118 kilograms of raw opium, were intercepted in Tajikistan, the source at a DCA said.
According to experts, increase in the amount of seized narcotics is evidence of improvement of work of agencies combating drug trafficking. At the same time, it also indicates increase in production of narcotics in neighboring Afghanistan, specialists say.
According to an annual UN assessment, the amount of opium poppy cultivated in Afghanistan”s volatile southern provinces will increase this year. But the UN adds, the overall harvest will be similar to or lower than last year”s record-breaking level.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) based its findings on interviews in almost 500 villages.
UNODC report says Nimroz province, next to Helmand, is the greatest concern for 2008, with opium cultivation set to rise sharply. Record-breaking Helmand will still produce around half the country”s opium, but cultivation is not expected to increase this year. Kandahar and other southern provinces are also expected to increase their output.
But the eastern province of Nangarhar looks set to show a drop in the number of opium poppies grown – from having been one of the worst offenders last year.
More provinces could be declared “poppy free”, the UN says, if planned eradication programs in safer parts of the country are carried out. A lot depends on the success of the campaigns to eradicate the crops when they emerge in the spring.
There is also a warning about cannabis cultivation this year, which is also expected to increase.
