UZBEK ANTI-DRUGS OFFICIAL SAYS CENTRAL ASIAN DRUG TRAFFICKING INCREASING

TASHKENT. In one of his works [Uzbek] President Islam Karimov listed
regional conflicts among security threats. Regional conflicts very often
present such problems as terrorism, violence, arms and drugs smuggling.
International Anti-Drugs Day will be marked next week.

[Passage omitted: Uzbekistan is a signatory to many international
anti-drugs documents]

[A man, Sergey Kopenkin, deputy head of the Interior Ministry's department
for fighting drug trafficking and the illegal circulation of drugs
(captioned), shown being interviewed in his office] Unfortunately, the
predictions that we made a few years ago are coming true. I mean the inflow
of hard drugs, mainly of heroin, opium and hashish, from Afghanistan is
increasing. There is, literally, a wave coming from Afghanistan and it goes
through Central Asian republics. We can cite the following as proof: The
heroin seized in the "Poppy" operation this year accounts for more than
half all the drugs seized in that operation. This is the first such
situation in the last few years.

[Correspondent] Does this suggest that our region is becoming the world's
main transit territory for hard drugs?

[Kopenkin] I would not say the main one, but one of the main ones, since
Uzbekistan and its partner countries, including international
organizations, the UN and their agencies, have information that of the six
known drugs trafficking channels, four are in the Central Asian region.

[Correspondent says that dealing with drugs-related crimes has become a
routine task of the police]

[Correspondent] There is information, I do not know to what extent it is
true, that part of the drug crops in Afghanistan has been destroyed. To
what extent is this close to the truth?

[Kopenkin] As an expert, I will answer your question on the basis of
incoming data, the data that has been made available to us. This
information contains the truth, though I would not say it is 100 per cent
true. The Taleban group must recognize the international community and take
measures against the production of illegal drugs. They are obliged to do
so. Therefore, they have destroyed part of such crops and some of drug
production facilities there. But, unfortunately, practical results show
that drug trafficking is increasing, not decreasing. Apparently, an
increase in the production of hard drugs such as opium and heroin over the
past few years enabled them to take some measures in this regard.

[Correspondent, over video of containers of a white substance, detainees]
[Passage omitted: factual information about drug dealing]

A total of 1.07 kg of heroin was seized from a certain Dilshod Akhunov
[phonetic] in [the Uzbek capital] Tashkent's Khamza District in early June.
In May, a certain Otabek Mignarov [phonetic] was found in possession of 580
g of marijuana. These young men who have been arrested have not even
reached the age of 30 and are unemployed.

[Passage omitted: women and unemployed people are increasingly often
getting involved in drug trafficking]