DUSHANBE, April 27, 2016, Asia-Plus – Two Afghan drug traffickers were killed and four others wounded in two skirmishes that took place along the Tajik-Afghan border in Khatlon province.
According to the Border Guard Directorate at the State Committee for National Security (SCNS), two Afghan drug traffickers were killed and three others wounded in a skirmish that took place in the areas patrolled by the Hamadoni border unit on the night of April 25-26.
“Tajik border guards on a routine patrol spotted 16 Afghan smugglers who were illegally crossing the border river. As results of the skirmish, two trespassers were killed and three others wounded, while the others managed to return to Afghan territory,” Muhammad Ulughkhojayev, a spokesman for the Boarder Guard Directorate, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
According to him, 60 kilograms of hashish, five kilograms of raw opium, one assault rifle Kalashnikov, one hand grenade and 80 bullets of different caliber were found on the spot.
Another skirmish reportedly took place in the same area on April 23 at 9:20 pm. As a result of the skirmish, one of the trespassers was wounded while others managed to return to Afghan territory, Ulughkhojayev said, noting that 20 kilograms of hashish were found on the spot.
We will recall that the first quarter of this year has seen eight engagements between Tajik border guards and armed drug smugglers along the Tajik-Afghan border. Five trespassers were reportedly killed and two other wounded.
Over the first three months of this year, Tajik border guards have seized nearly 300 kilograms of narcotics, 12 firearms and 200 bullets of different caliber.
