DUSHANBE, February 5, 2013, Asia-Plus  -- Officers from the State Committee for National Security (SCNS)’s office in the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) have reportedly thwarted three attempts by smugglers to illegally cross the border over the past week.

According to the SCNS press center, one Afghan drug trafficker was killed in a skirmish that took place near the village of Yomj in the Shugnan district.  One assault rifle Kalashnikov as well as 530 grams of heroin and more than 1.6 kilograms of hashish were found on the spot.

Another operation carried out by security officers and border guards near the village of Shidz in the Rushan district led to the arrest of four trespassers, including three nationals of Tajikistan and one national of Afghanistan.  They were going to smuggle a large consignment of Pine cigarettes (6,500 packs) into Tajikistan.

Besides, three Tajik nationals were detained by Afghan border guards while they were illegally crossing the border river near the village of Nishousp, Shugnan district.  “In accordance with interstate agreement between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, the trespassers have been handed over to the SCNS officers,” the source said.