DUSHANBE, November 2, 2009, Asia-Plus — Operation TARCET II was carried out in Tajikistan from September 28 to October 31 this year within the framework of the project, Precursor Control in Central Asia AD/RER/E29.
Operation TARCET II is an anti-trafficking initiative to prevent the smuggling of chemicals to Afghanistan for use in the illicit manufacture of heroin.
Tajik counternarcotics agency coordinated the operation in the territory of Tajikistan.
No cases of the smuggling of precursors from Tajikistan to Afghanistan through the crossings Nizhny Panj, Bratstvo, Tem, Khushadi and Fotehobod as well as by rail or air have been detected, according to press service of the Drug Control Agency (DCA).
Operation TARCET I was carried out from March 11 to May 20 2008. Operation TARCET I, a time-bound activity focusing on identifying and intercepting consignments of precursor chemicals being smuggled into Afghanistan for use in the illicit manufacture of heroin, was implemented in support of the Paris Pact initiative particularly with a view to operationalizing the Red Paper of the Rainbow Strategy.
According to UNODC website, the rapid increase in opium poppy cultivation observed in Afghanistan since 2001 has gone hand-in-hand with the emergence of the illicit production of heroin in the country. The estimated 725 tons of heroin produced during 2008 required over 10,000 tons of chemicals used in the manufacture of heroin. While some success has been achieved in Afghanistan in identifying and dismantling illicit laboratories for these chemicals, similar successes have not been achieved in identifying the methods and routes used by traffickers to bring these large amounts of chemicals into the country.
Because of this, the UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia and the Country Office in Afghanistan convened a High-Level Planning Session on May 12-13 this year to launch Operation TARCET II. The session was attended by over 60 delegates from 19 countries and international and regional organizations.
