DUSHANBE, July 28, Asia-Plus — More than 1,360 kilograms of drugs, with more than 650 kilograms of them being heroin, have been intercepted by Tajik border troops in cooperation with other Tajik power-wielding structures over the first six months of this year, Safarali Sayfulloyev, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Protection of the State Border of Tajikistan, announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on July 28.
Speaking to journalists, the Tajik border service deputy chief said that 28 joint operations of Tajik border troops with other power-wielding structures of the country, including three joint operations with the Security Ministry, 11 with the Ministry of Interior (MoI), 12 with the Drug Control Agency (DCA), and two with the Ministry of State Revenues and Tax Collections, have led to the seizure of the mentioned amount of drugs.
According to him, it is 4.1 times more compared to the same period of the last year, “Little more than 320 kilograms of drugs, including 38 kilograms of heroin, had been seized in January-June 2005” Safarali Sayfulloyev said.
MR. Sayfulloyev noted that the first half-year of 2006 has seen 15 operations carried out by Tajik border troops. More than 130 kilograms of drugs, including some 30 kilograms of heroin, were seized in those 15 operations.
Besides, Tajik border troops have seized 24 firearms, including six sub-machine-guns “Kalashnikov”, and 4,375 bullets of different caliber over the same six-month period.
Over the first six months of this year, Tajik border troops have detained 30 drug traffickers and more than 180 violators of requirements of border regime. Besides, some US$70,000 worth of contraband goods have been intercepted by Tajik border guards in January-June this year.
