DUSHANBE, June 24, Asia-Plus -- Uzbek authorities claim that alleged Tajik agent has been arrested in the Bandykhan district of the Uzbek southern region of Surkhandarya.

The Uzbek press.uz.info website has reported that Tajik citizen Murodullo Jurayev, resident of the Tajik southern district of Shahritus, was detained in the Bandykhan district in early June for violation of requirements of staying in Uzbekistan.  

The Uzbek law enforcement agencies claim that Tajik authorities smuggled Murodullo Jurayev across the border for the purpose of carrying out terrorist attacks in Uzbekistan.   

The press-uz.info website quoted the Uzbek officials as saying that Mr. Jurayev was a convicted Tajik drug trafficker.  “According to Juryaev himself, officers from the Khatlon police department detained him in 2000 for involvement of storage of drugs and he was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment,” the website said, noting that Jurayev was transferred to deportation and supposed to be released ahead of schedule on June 2006 this year.  In January 2006, Murodullo Jurayev was transported to Dushanbe for conversation with one of high-ranking officials from the Tajik Ministry of Interior (MoI).   According to the website, the MoI official allegedly offered Jurayev to fulfill a special mission on the territory of Uzbekistan in return for money and a promise to not be given an additional lengthy term in jail. 

Murodullo Jurayev allegedly took military training in the Varzob district.  After Jurayev took a proper military training another official from the Tajik MoI allegedly gave him noiseless pistol and US$800 and sent him to Uzbekistan.  During interrogation by Uzbek security officials Jurayev allegedly confessed that he had been instructed to recruit people to carry out terrorist attacks in Uzbekistan, the website reported.  He reportedly told investigators that he had been supposed to kill certain persons on the territory of Uzbekistan. 

In the meantime, according to information from the Tajik MoI, their officers have begun examination of the mentioned facts.  The MoI source has refrained from commenting on the situation around these accusations.