[Correspondent] The fight against drug trafficking is one of the priority aspects of the work of our republic’s law-enforcement agencies. This problem remains particularly pressing in Surkhondaryo Region, which borders a major opium producer, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, where the drug situation remains acute. The cause of the increase in the smuggling of raw opium from Afghanistan is that country’s unprecedented poppy harvest.

For example, personnel of the SNB [Uzbek National Security Service], the customs and border troops have detained an Afghan national, an inhabitant of Balkh Province, as he was trying to smuggle a large batch of drugs through the River Amudaryo at night. Fifty kilograms of raw opium and a TT pistol with live cartridges were seized from the trespasser, who crossed the river on a car inner tube.

As for Tajikistan, mostly heroin of Afghan origin comes from that country, the amount of which has increased several-fold in recent times.

The [Surkhondaryo] region’s law-enforcement agencies seized about 500 kilograms of drugs in 2007. This figure was 741 kilograms in the first six months of this year alone, of which 738 kilograms were heroin. These facts show that criminal groups have turned this country’s territory into the main transit route for the deadly drug.

The SNB department for Surkhondaryo Region, jointly with border guards, foiled an attempt to smuggle a very large batch of drugs into the Uzun section of the state border with Tajikistan. It has been established that a border trespasser intended to illegally take more than 118 kilograms of heroin into Uzbekistan on two horses. Investigators have to look into details of the incident.

Drug traffickers very often use Tajik rail transport which goes through Uzbekistan. In practice, border guards and customs officers have seen over the course of their work lots of examples of trains being used for smuggling.

[Daniyar Dustmatov, junior sergeant; captioned] Over 10 kilograms of a drug, heroin, has been seized. Border inspections are discovering that some transit passengers - Tajik nationals - have expired passports, some have no tickets and some have forged stamps and date stamps [presumably on their passports].

[Correspondent] According to the detained drug traffickers, they are engaged in the illegal trade in Tajikistan almost with impunity. [Passage omitted: A Tajik was detained in Uzbekistan for possession of 70 kilograms of opium and faced criminal prosecution]

[Abdugaffar Ahmedov, an elder of the Sarijar neighbourhood in the Dashnabod local government of Sariosiyo District (Surkhondaryo Region); captioned] Criminal groups from Tajikistan have abruptly increased the smuggling of drugs into our region in recent times. This causes serious concern to all of us, the neighbourhood’s elders. The neighbouring country’s criminal groups are luring some of our young people into this business by deceit and with money. Any sane person realizes what consequences this may lead to. Therefore, we all - both the neighbourhood’s activists and elders, together with the law-enforcement agencies and border guards - are carrying out work to prevent such cases and are doing what we can to help to them [law-enforcement agencies and border guards].

It will be naive to think that [only] ordinary people are involved in drug trafficking in the neighbouring country. According to detainees, representatives of [Tajik] power-wielding departments very often accompanied them to the Uzbek border, thus giving the caravan of death a green light. If that is not so, how can one explain the appearance of very large batches of drugs of Afghan origin in the area which is adjacent to Uzbekistan, sometimes involving some inhabitants of areas which border Tajikistan in the criminal action?

It remains only to hope that at last the neighbouring republic’s law-enforcement agencies will begin fighting against drug trafficking, which is assuming menacing proportions in this country, not in words but in actual fact.

Originally published by Uzbek Television first channel, Tashkent, in Russian 1430 19 Jul 08.

(c) 2008 BBC Monitoring Central Asia. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Story Source: BBC Monitoring Central Asia