RAKHMONOV CRACKS DOWN ON DRUGS WITH EXILE WARNING

DUSHANBE: Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov stepped up his country's losing
battle against drugs on Monday, threatening to exile entire villages if one
resident was found participating in the country's flourishing drug trade.

"From now on, even if just one resident from a border village is involved
in drug trafficking, the entire village will take responsibility,"
Rakhmonov said, adding that all village residents "will be moved to other
regions in the country."

Military officials have said that around 1,000 Tajiks living on the
country's southern border with Afghanistan are suspected of involvement in
drug trafficking.

The former Soviet republic has become a favoured point of passage for drugs
from Afghanistan, sharing a 1,200km border with the world's biggest
producer of opium and heroin by far.- AFP