DUSHANBE, January 27, 2011, Asia-Plus — In
2010, 418 citizens of Tajikistan were detained in the CIS nations on
suspicion of drug offenses, the Drug Control Agency (DCA) director
Rustam Nazarov remarked at a news conference in Dushanbe on January 26.
According to him, 66 Tajik nationals were detained for drug crimes in
Russia, which is 20.4 percent more than in 2009. “In all, 100,000
people were detained Russia on suspicion of drug offenses last year
and Tajiks constituted 0.5 percent of them,” Tajik drug control chief
noted.
“The number of Tajiks detained for drug crimes in Central Asia’s
countries is showing a downward tendency,” said Nazarov, “In
Kazakhstan their number decreased by 73.9 percent (17 Tajiks were
detained in Kazakhstan on suspicion of drug offenses last year), in
Uzbekistan by 44.7 percent (17 people), and in Kyrgyzstan by 90
percent (9 people).”
At the same time, 48 foreign citizens were detained in Tajikistan on
suspicion of drug crimes last year: 25 Afghans; five Pakistani
citizens; three Uzbeks; two Ukrainians; one from Russia; one from
China; one from Saudi Arabia and so forth.
Tajik law enforcement authorities seized 3,902 kilograms of narcotics
in 2010. A totaled included 985 kilograms of heroin, 744 kilograms of
raw opium, and 2,173 kilograms of cannabis.
Of this amount, some 865 kilograms of narcotics, including 234
kilograms of heroin, 331 kilograms of raw opium and some 300 kilograms
of cannabis, were seized by Tajik counternarcotic agency.
Over the report period, 51 operations were carried out by Tajik drug
control officers in cooperation with special services of the Russia
Federation and Afghanistan. The operations led to the seizure of
1,165 kilograms of narcotics. Of those operations, 48 were carried
out in cooperation with Afghan law enforcement authorities. More than
973 kilograms of narcotics and 4,500 of liquid opium were seized in
those operations. Besides, the operations led to the arrest of 54
drug smugglers and destruction 14 drug labs.
