DUSHANBE, November 24, 2009, Asia-Plus — The second phase of an international anti-drug operation, dubbed Channel-2009, which was conducted from November 9 to November 16 this year, resulted in detection of 14 drug-related crimes and seizure of some 390 kilograms of narcotics in Tajikistan, according to press service of the Drug Control Agency (DCA).
More than 4,800 law enforcement and border officers were involved in the second phase of the operation in the country.
During the operation, more than 131 criminal proceedings have been instituted; of them, 67 cases have been instituted on drug charges. 59 criminals have been solved during the operation.
514 kilograms heroin and some 266 kilograms of raw opium have been seized within the area of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) during the operation and Tajikistan accounted for 18.8 percent of the overall amount of heroin and 72.1 percent of the overall amount of opium seized within the CSTO area.
The CSTO groups Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The second phase of the operation was carried out in the CSTO member nations as well as Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Venezuela, Italy, Iran, China, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the united States, Ukraine and Estonia, the DCA press service said.
