DUSHANBE , March 15, Asia-Plus - Tajik border troops have warded off an attempt by Afghan drug traffickers to smuggle a large amount of heroin into Tajikistan .

According to information from the Committee for Protection of the State Border of Tajikistan, Tajik border troops on a patrol spotted and tried to detain six Afghan drug traffickers who were illegally crossing the border river in the Farkhor district yesterday, March 14.  

“But as a result of the skirmish, the border guards managed to detain only one trespasser, while the other five managed to flee,” said the source at the Tajik borer service, “39 packages containing heroin and cannabis as well as two guns were found on the spot.” 

The operation was carried out by the border guards in cooperation with the Drug Control Agency (DCA), according to the border service’s source.  

In February, Tajik border troops seized more than 216 kilograms of drugs at the Tajik-Afghan border.  The totaled included 118 kilograms of heroin.  30 attempts of illegally crossing the border were reported last month and 30 trespassers were detained.  

            In the meantime, Avaz Yuldoshev, a spokesman for the DCA, says the drugs seized in this operation included 37 kilograms of heroin and 46 kilograms of marijuana.  “The detained trespasser provided to be the 30-year-old Afghan citizen Husein valadi Navruz, who is organizer of transportation of the drugs,” the DCA spokesman said.  Investigation is under way.

            According to Yuldoshev, DCA has seized more than 215 kilograms of drugs, with more than 115 kilograms of them being heroin, since the beginning of the year.