DUSHANBE, May 21, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- In the course of the ongoing anti-drug operation, dubbed Poppy 2009, officers from the Drug Control Agency (DCA) have managed to stop activities of the organized drug trafficking criminal group dealing with transporting Afghan heroin to Russia through Tajikistan, according to the DCA press service.

An operation carried out by the drug control officers in the city of Qurghon Teppa, the capital of Khatlon province on May 18 led to the arrest of local resident K.H.  A package containing 500 grams of heroin was confiscated from him.

The preliminary investigation has established that a bulk quantity of heroin, totaling more than 30,000 doses, was intended for dealers.

Criminal proceedings have been instituted on the provisions of Article 200 of Tajikistan’s Criminal Penal - manufacture, acquisition, storage, transportation, and use of drugs.  If found guilty and convicted, K.H. could face 8 to 12 years in prison, the DCA press service said.

Investigators have to find out his role in the criminal chain of supply and resale of bulk quantities of heroin.