CIS BORDER COMMANDERS CONCERNED OVER DRUG TRAFFICKING GROWTH

TBILISI -- Heads of border services of the CIS member-states are concerned
about the increase of illegal drug circulation within the CIS.

Participants in a conference of the Coordinating council of commanders of
CIS border services agreed that Afghanistan remains the main supplier of
illegal drugs to Central Asia and the CIS.

According to information of the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime
Prevention cited at the session, almost 80% of the Afghan economy is
related to the production and circulation of illegal drugs, and 75% of the
world production of raw opium is concentrated in that country. Participants
in the session also noted that a significant number of laboratories for
producing, in particular heavy drugs, have lately been deployed in Afghan
regions bordering Tajikistan. Each such laboratory is capable of producing
up to 10 kilos of heroin daily. The Pyandzh and Moscow border guard units
under the Russian border contingent in Tajikistan play the principal role
in preventing drugs from entering Tajikistan and subsequently CIS
countries, speakers at the conference said. Since the beginning of the
year, these border guards have seized about one tonne of drugs, including
over 650 kilos of heroin, from illegal circulation.