DUSHANBE, May 12, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has reported the seizure of more than 20 kilograms of heroin in two separate operations on May 8 and 9.

“On May 9, two residents of Dushanbe, Dilshod Raufov and Firouz Mallayev, were detained at the Sino Hotel in the northern city of Chkalovsk on suspicion of having been involved in drug pushing,” said the source at a MoI, “More than 18 kilograms of heroin were confiscated from them.”

On May 8, 2 kilograms of heroin were confiscated from Dushanbe resident E.S.

The same day, police officers confiscated a package containing 1.5 kilograms of hashish from two persons in Sughd’s Spitamen district, the source said.  

Over the first three months of this year, Tajik police have seized 780 kilograms of narcotics.  A totaled included 163.5 kilograms of heroin, 119 kilograms of raw opium and 497 kilograms of cannabis.  Besides, police officers have seized 51 ecstasy pills and some 20 grams of synthetic narcotic MDMA over the report period.

In all, all the law enforcement and power-wielding structures of Tajikistan have seized 1,050 kilograms of narcotics over the same three-month period.