Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security (SCNS) has dismantled a transnational narcotics trafficking group originating from Afghanistan, seizing nearly 58.5 kilograms of illegal substances, the SCNS’s public relations center reported.

            According to the SCNS, the group consisted of four Afghan nationals led by approximately 50-year-old Azarkhon, son of Saydumar, a resident of Khwahan district in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province.  The smugglers illegally crossed the Tajik border near the village of Kisht in the Nuriddin Mahmoudov jamoat of Shamsiddin-Shohin district in Khatlon province.

Armed clash on the border

Acting on intelligence, security officers from the SCNS regional department in Khatlon, along with border guards from Outpost No. 5 “Khirmanjo,” tracked the group’s route through the mountainous terrain.  When confronted, the traffickers refused to surrender and opened fire with automatic weapons.

“In the exchange of fire, the group leader and one accomplice were neutralized.  The remaining two managed to flee back into Afghan territory,” the SCNS stated.

Weapons, drugs, and equipment seized

At the scene, officers recovered two Kalashnikov assault rifles with magazines and 17 rounds of ammunition, a night vision device, a rubber boat, and three sacks containing 59 bricks of opium weighing 57.515 kg.  Additionally, one brick of methamphetamine weighing 960 grams was seized.  The total weight of narcotics confiscated was 58.475 kilograms.

Criminal proceedings have been initiated under four articles of Tajikistan’s Criminal Code, including: Article 195 -- illegal acquisition, storage, transportation, or sale of weapons and explosives; Article 200 -- illegal drug trafficking; Article 289 -- smuggling; and Article 335 -- illegal crossing of the state border.

Public urged to assist in border security

The SCNS emphasized the importance of civilian cooperation in securing Tajikistan’s borders and urged residents of border districts to assist law enforcement in identifying and intercepting criminal groups attempting to cross into the country illegally.

Operations are ongoing to identify and apprehend the group’s accomplices.