Over 700 kilograms of contraband firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices have been seized on Tajikistan’s common border with Kyrgyzstan just a day ahead of New Year’s holiday, according to the press center of the Main Border Guard Directorate at the State Committee for National Security (SCNS).
“More than 600 kilograms of firecrackers were found hidden in Toyota Land Cruiser belonging to a 22-year-old resident of the Murgab district of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), Qushbai Mambedqulov,” Muhammad Ulughkhojyaev, a spokesman for the Main Border Guard Directorate, told Asia-Plus on January 2.
Besides, more than 100 kilograms of contraband firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices were seized by Tajik border guards on the same day on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border in the Sughd province.
Recall, government’s decree issued in 2008 prohibits delivery of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices into Tajikistan and sale of them in the country.
The Tajik Penal Code criminalizes delivery and sale of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices. Article 199 stipulates that delivery and sale of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices is punishable by up to two year in prison or by a fine ranging from 10,000 to 25,000 somoni.
