37.5 tonnes of drugs seized in Russia in 2013 - drug watchdog head
MOSCOW. March 14 (Interfax) - More than 37.5 tonnes of illicit drugs were confiscated in Russia in 2013, the head of the country's Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN), Viktor Ivanov, said on Friday.
"The overall amount of narcotic substances confiscated in 2013 stood at over 37.5 tonnes, of which 65% were confiscated by drug control agencies," he said.
The share of highly dangerous drugs in the structure of seized narcotic substances has been growing, he said.
Last year saw an increase in the amount of cocaine, synthetic drugs, hashish and heroin, Ivanov said.
The amount of confiscated cocaine hauls grew by 84.6%, heroin by 13%, hashish by 28%, and synthetic drugs by 50%, he said.
"The number of eliminated drug dens stood at 4,391, which is 28% less than the year before," Ivanov said.
He explained this circumstance by a 30-fold reduction in desomorphine turnover in Russia following "the introduction of prescription-only sales of cocaine-containing medications at pharmacies in 2012."
"Around 3,000 makeshift drug production facilities and some 30 drug laboratories were liquidated in 2013," Ivanov said.
