DUSHANBE, December 1, 2015, Asia-Plus – 26 kilos of narcotics have been seized by Tajik border guards at the Tajik-Afghan border in Khatlon province.

According to the press center of the Main Border Guard Directorate under the State Committee for National Security (SCNS), Tajik border guard on a routine patrol spotted a group of Afghan smugglers who were illegally crossing border river in the Panj district in early Monday morning.

“When Tajik border guards tried to detain the trespassers, the latter opened fire at them.  The border guards opened return fire and the trespassers were forced to return to Afghan territory,” Mohammad Ulughkhojayev, a spokesman for the Main Border Guard Directorate, told Asia-Plus in an interview.

According to him, 20 kilograms of raw opium and 6 kilograms of hashish as well as an assault rifle Kalashnikov were found on the spot.