In a report released at a news conference in Dushanbe, the deputy chief of the Drug Control Agency (DCA), Samad Zafar revealed on August 2 that the number of drug-related crimes has decreased by 5.8 percent over the first six months of this year.
“468 crimes involving trafficking in drugs have been reported in Tajikistan over the first six months of this year, which is 5.8 percent fewer than in the same period last year,” Zafar said.
Despite the fact that the number of the solved drug-related crimes has increased and the number of detained drug smugglers has increased over the report period, the amount of narcotic drugs seized by the counter narcotics agency over the same six-month period has decreased compared to January-June, Tajik drug control official noted.
According to him, this decrease is evidence of the fact that “the volumes of large scale drug trafficking have decreased in the country.”
Zafar attributes decrease in a large-scale drug trafficking to strengthening of control along Tajikistan’s common border with Afghanistan.
“Over the report period, drug control officers and border guards carried out six joint operations that led to the seizure of more than 109 kilograms of narcotics drugs,” Zafar said, noting that nine foreign nationals, including eight citizens of Afghanistan and one citizen of Kyrgyzstan, have been detained in January-June this year for drug trafficking.
