Drug control officer detained in Tajikistan on drug dealing suspicions
DUSHANBE. Jan 24 (Interfax) - An officer of the Tajik president's Drug Control Agency has been detained by his colleagues in an attempt to sell drugs, the Agency press service reported on Friday.
The detention was made in Khujand, the second largest city of Tajikistan situated 310 kilometers north of Dushanbe.
"The turncoat from the Drug Control Agency department in Sughd region and his two civilian accomplices were caught red-handed in the final stage of the operation. About three kilograms of heroin and a kilogram of hashish were taken from them," the press service said.
A kilo of high purity heroin costs about $4,000 in Afghanistan, twice as much in Tajikistan, and up to $200,000 in Russia after it is diluted with supplementary substances, Tajik experts said.
"A criminal case was opened against the detainees under Article 200.4, illegal turnover of narcotic or psychotropic drugs with the intention to distribute. The former officer of the Drug Control Agency was also accused of abuse of office," the press service reported.
If a court finds the suspects guilty, they will spend 12 to 20 years in prison each.
The police of Tajikistan, which has the longest border with Afghanistan in Central Asia - 1,344 kilometers, seized 5,693 kilograms of drugs in January-October 2013, or 5.2% more than the year before. Drugs are transported through Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan into Kazakhstan, Russia, Eastern and Western Europe.
