DUSHANBE, January 18, 2010, Asia-Plus -- Some 700 officers from the Customs Service of the country were rotated last year in order to provide correct personnel policy and avoid infringements among customs officials, Nemat Rahmatov, the first deputy head of the Customs Service, announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on January 18.

According to him, 88 customs officers were implicated in wrongdoing last year, and disciplinary and administrative actions were imposed upon them.  Besides, 62 person were sacked and criminal proceedings were instituted against 7 customs officers in 2009, Rahmatov added.

“In 2009, 5,000 instances of violation of the customs code were registered in Tajikistan, which was 115 cases more than in 2008,” said Rahmatov, “Last year, customs officers intercepted more than 122 kilograms of narcotics.”