Uzbekistan30/10/2007Uzbek security officers seize 90 kg of opium - report
Uzbekistan’s security service announced on Monday that its officers had seized a total of 90 kilograms (198 pounds) of opium in two special operations.
Two Tajiks were arrested in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, carrying a bag containing 19 kg (40 pounds) of opium in polyethylene packages, RIA Novosti reported. Earlier in the day, security officers found 71 kg (157 pounds) of opium in a truck parked at a bus station.
The drugs found in both operations are believed to have been supplied by a well-known Tajik trafficker known to have smuggled drugs into Tajik prisons.
The former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan is a major transit country for drugs from neighboring Afghanistan, the world’s largest heroin and opium producer.