DUSHANBE, May 26, 2009, Asia-Plus - The anti-drug operation, dubbed Poppy-2209, is going on in Tajikistan.  Border guards jointly with officers from the counter narcotics agency have broken up a transnational drug-smuggling ring in southeast Tajikistan and seized a large amount of drugs, according to the main border directorate within the State Committee for national Security (GKNB).

Khoushnoud Rahmatulloyev, a spokesman for the main border directorate, told Asia-Plus today that a special operation carried out by border guards in cooperation with officers from the Drug Control Agency (DCA) in GBAO’s Darvoz district on May 23 led to the seizure of a large amount of narcotics.  “They spotted and tried to detain a group of drug traffickers who were crossing the border river near the area of Zighar-Valvalak in Darvoz.  Exchange of fire began and the trespassers were forced to return to the contiguous territory,” said the spokesman, “Some 25 kilograms of narcotics, including 12.5 kilograms of hashish, 12.3 kilograms of heroin, and one sub-machine Kalashnikov were found on the spot.”

Besides, an operation carried out by border guards and drug control officers in the area of Patkmou-Sari Ob in Darvoz on May 25 led to the arrest of some 10 members of the organized drug-trafficking ring.  Some 65 kilograms of narcotics, including five kilograms of hashish and more than 58 kilograms of raw opium, as well as a large amount of weapons were confiscated form them.  This ring, consisting of nationals of both Afghanistan and Tajikistan, was engaged in transporting Afghan narcotics to the CIS states through Tajikistan, Rahmatulloyev said.