DUSHANBE , July 14, Asia-Plus - Officers from Tajik Drug Control Agency (DCA) have warded off 75 attempts of smuggling drugs into Tajikistan over the first six months of this year, Tajik drug control chief Rustam Nazarov announced at a briefing in Dushanbe on July 13.  

According to him, their officers have neutralized 16 organized criminal groupings over the same six-month period.  “More than 160 kilograms of drugs have been confiscated from these groupings,” the DCA director said.  

All in all, officers from DCA have intercepted some 580 kilograms of drugs in the first half-year of 2006, which is 1.5 times more compared to the same period of last year, according to him.  “75 criminal proceedings have been instituted against drug traffickers over the mentioned period; of them, 55 cases instituted against 72 drug pushers have already moved to courts,” Mr. Nazarov said.  

Besides, 20 joint operations carried out by officers from DCA jointly with other special services of Tajikistan as well as special services of the CIS states and Afghanistan have led to the seizure of some 600 kilograms of drugs over the first six months of this year, according to Rustam Nazarov.