DUSHANBE, January 10, Asia-Plus — In 2007, 17 organized criminal groups were revealed and neutralized in Tajikistan and 32 members of armed bands that had been active in the country in the previous years were detained, according to the Ministry of Interior (MoI).
Besides, six members of the outlawed religious Hizb ut-Tahrir organization and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) were arrested in the country last year.
The number of reported gang offences reduced from 975 cases in 2006 to 793 in 2007, and there was more than a one-third reduction in the number of reported of recurrent crimes last year. The number of the recurrent crimes reduced from 1,368 in 2006 to 893 in 2007.
In the meantime, the number of crimes involving illegally bearing, possessing and acquiring weapons increased by 4.5 percent. 70 such crimes were reported in Tajikistan in 2007.
1,440 firearms, including 368 sub-machine guns, 2002 pistols, 256 carbines, were confiscated from the population last year.
619 crimes involving the manufacture, acquisition, storage, transportation, and use of drugs were reported in Tajikistan in 2007, which 6.3 percent more than in the previous year. Tajik police seized 2,069 kilograms of narcotics, including 833 kilograms of heroin, last year.
