DUSHANBE, December 4, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- Officers from the Drug Control Agency (DCA)’s office in the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) have reportedly seized a large amount of contraband cigarettes in the Ishkashim district.

An official source at DCA’s head office in Dushanbe says the drug control officers jointly with border guards found 25 boxes containing cartons of ten cigarette packs “Pine” on December 3 while searching a minivan not far from the frontier post “Anderob.”  The contraband cigarettes from Afghanistan were reportedly intended for sale in Tajikistan.

“They also stopped Mercedes-Benz that was accompanying the minivan.  “A customs officer, an officer from the Ishkashim border, resident of Shugnan district and residents of Dushanbe and Khatlon province were in Mercedes,” the source said.

All of them were detained on suspicion of having involved in contraband cigarette smuggling and an investigation is under way.