2 RESIDENTS OF TURKEY DETAINED ON DRUG CONTRABAND SUSPICION.

ASTRAKHAN, January 26 (Itar-Tass) - The Turkmen secret services
detained two residents of Turkey on Tuesday. According to the
preliminary reports, the two are involved in the transportation of the
largest heroin contraband confiscated by Russian police at the Olya
international airport of Astrakhan on January 21, 1999, sources at
the local department of the Federal Security Service told Itar- Tass
on Tuesday.

The 220 kilograms of raw heroin were found in an additional gasoline
tank of a Turkish "Scania" truck which arrived in Astrakhan from the
Turkmenbashi port of Turkmenistan on board the Kristina ferry boat on
January 21. The driver and the passenger of the car were detained.

It appeared that the truck officially carried 11 tonnes of Turkish
macaroni with an expired shelf life. The black market cost of the
"heroin spice" to the macaroni is 22 million dollars.

A total of 40 kilograms of opium and nine grams of heroin were
confiscated in the Astrakhan region over the whole year 1998.

The criminal proceedings are instituted by the local department of the
Federal Security Service. The narcotic drug is kept at a storage as a
material evidence. The border guards who exposed the contraband may be
given governmental awards.