AFGHANISTAN REMAINS MAIN SUPPLIER OF ILLEGAL DRUGS TO CENTRAL ASIA AND CIS

ASTANA. A conference of the Coordinating Council of heads of border
services of the CIS member states concurred that Afghanistan remains the
main supplier of illegal drugs to Central Asia and the CIS. According to
data 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. The participants of the session also
pointed out that a considerable 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.