DUSHANBE, June 1, Asia-Plus -- On Thursday May 31, Afghan drug traffickers killed deputy commander of the Darvoz border unit for rear services Muqim Muhabbatov and took his driver to Afghanistan, Asia-Plus has learned fro a reliable source at Tajik power-wielding structures.

According to him, four armed Afghans last Thursday illegally crossed the border river and stopped a service car of the deputy commander of the Darvoz border unit for rear services not far from the border unit.  Witnesses say that following stormy debates Afghans shot Muqim Muhabbatov dead and took his driver with them, the source said.   

The source claims Afghan drug traffickers dealt with Muhabbatov for drug debts.  “Muhabbatov took from them 200 kilograms of heroin for realization but did not return money for the narcotics,” the source said.      

It is to be noted that Tajiks living near the border with Afghanistan have been falling prey to Afghan drug dealers who are taking desperate measure to recover debts.  Afghan drug dealers are kidnapping Tajiks, taking them from their border villages and holding hostage until their families pay ransom money to clear debts. 

The most vulnerable stretch of the Tajik-Afghan is the Shuroobod.  In the late Nineties, cattle rustling, hostage taking and smuggling of drugs and arms was epidemic there.