DUSHANBE, January 9, Asia-Plus  -- Tajik law-enforcement authorities seized more than 5,270 kilograms of narcotics last year, which is 10 percent more than in 2006, according to the Tajik Drug Control Agency.

Of this amount, 1,213 kilograms of drugs were intercepted by officers from the counternarcotics agency.  Besides, 53 joint operations carried out by the drug control officers in cooperation with the law enforcement agencies of Russia and other CIS states as well as Afghanistan and China led to the seizure of further 1,525 kilograms of narcotics.

 According to the Ministry of Interior (MoI), police officers also yielded good results last year, intercepting 2,492 kilograms of drugs.  The totaled included 833 kilograms of heroin and 1,226 kilograms of raw opium.   

 Tajik border guards last year seized 915 kilograms of drugs, with major part of them being heroin and raw opium.  

Experts point to the necessity of strengthening of the Shuroobod stretch of the Tajik-Afghan border.  According to them the Shuroobod stretch remains the most vulnerable part of the Tajik-Afghan border.  A large part of this stretch of the border is effectively unguarded and it contains a number of “black holes” that smugglers and Afghan drug dealers can exploit.      

Besides, residents of the Shuroobod villages near the Afghan border are falling prey to Afghan drug dealers who are taking desperate measures such as cattle rustling, kidnapping and hostage taking to recover debts.   According to the main border directorate of the State Committee for National Security (GKNB), another Tajik were released from Afghan captivity recently. 

As a result of a special operation carried out by the security officers and border guards the 42-year-old resident the Tera village Safar Emomov was released.  He was taken hostage in December.        

Two teenagers from Shuroobod were released on November 30, 2007.  The Safar brothers -- the 9th grade pupil Khoushnoud and the 11th grade pupil Khoushbakht -- were taken hostage by Afghans drug dealers on November 17, and a price of 20,000 US dollars was set for their return (the amount, their farther, who works with the Yol jamoat in Shuroobod, has owed to the Afghan dealers).