Large drug shipment seized on Tajik-Afghan border
DUSHANBE. Aug 14 (Interfax) - Sixty-five kilograms of Afghan drugs have been impounded in a special operation in southern Tajikistan, the Tajik Presidential Drug Control Agency reported on Wednesday.
The operation was held in the Shuroabad district of the Khatlon region, 200 kilometers southeast of Dushanbe.
"Cannabis drugs, more than 54 kilograms of marijuana and eleven kilograms of hashish were seized when checking police information. The total weight of the impounded drugs is 65 kilograms," the Agency said.
Citizens of Tajikistan and Afghanistan were detained on drug trafficking charges. The Agency continues the operation and has not reported the precise number of arrested suspects so far.
A criminal case has been opened on the charges of illegal trafficking of narcotics or psychotropic drugs in large amounts with the intention to distribute and illegally cross the border. Each suspect faces 12-20 years in jail if convicted.
The Tajik police seized 3,743.5 kilograms of drugs during the first half of this year, which was 10.7% year-on-year growth.
Tajikistan has a 1,344-kilometer border with Afghanistan. It is part of the Afghan drug transit route to Russia and Eastern and Western Europe. The route also goes through Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
