ANTI-DRUGS DAY MARKED IN KYRGYZSTAN

BISHKEK. Kyrgyzstan marked the International Anti-Drugs day on 26 June. The
Anti-Drug State Commission and the Committee on Sport, Tourism and Youth
Policy held on 26 June a news conference. It was announced at the meeting
that Kyrgyz authorities seized in the first five months of 2001 about 520
kilograms of drugs including 50 kgs of heroin and115 kgs of opium. 1,700
kgs of drugs were seized in 1999 and more than 5,000 kgs in 2000. However,
according to chairman of the commission Kurmanbek Kubatbekov, only five
percent of the drugs going through Kyrgyzstan are seized. According to him,
foreign countries and international organizations have given the commission
about $3.5-million help in last seven years.