09 October 2002 00:00
CONCERNING STRUGGLE AGAINST ILLICIT DRUG TRAFFICKING
In the last few years one of the methods of response by Russian law enforcement bodies to a change in the operational situation connected with illicit drug trafficking has become the organization and conduct of interagency operational preventative operations code-named Channel, aimed at identifying and cutting off channels for drug smuggling into the territory of the country.
From January to September of the current year, the Center prepared and carried out ten interagency Operations Channel. Of them, four bilaterally, jointly with the law enforcement bodies of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. One trilaterally with the law enforcement bodies of Latvia and Lithuania each, and on a four-sided basis with the law enforcement bodies of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan each.
Unilaterally such operations were carried out on the Russian-Georgian border in the territory of the Republic of Dagestan, and on the Russian-Kazakhstan border in the territories of the Orenburg, Saratov, Chelyabinsk, Astrakhan, Kurgan, Tyumen and Novosibirsk Regions. One of the operations envisaged the cutting off of channels for the smuggling of narcotic drugs by railway and air transport arriving in Russia from the Republic of Tajikistan.
The organizational and practical measures made it possible to reveal more than 3,000 crimes in the sphere of illicit drug trafficking. Over 2 tons of drugs were removed from illegal commerce. Also in the course of the operations 692 units of firearms and cold steel, and 9 million rubles' and 84,000 US dollars' worth of material values and contraband goods were confiscated.
In addition, considering that for a number of years the bulk of heroin of Afghan origin has been coming into Russia in transit through the territory of Tajikistan, the High Command has approved new methods for carrying out special joint measures on the distant approaches to Russian borders, in particular directly on the Tajik-Afghan border.
Jointly with the Department for Combating Illicit Drug Trafficking of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan, such measures were carried out twice. Over 120 kilograms of narcotic drugs were confiscated, including 67 kilograms of heroin, and 33 kilograms of heroin and 5 kilograms of hashish earmarked for smuggling into the Russian Federation.
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