Anti-drug operation in Kazakhstan

The police of Kazakhstan has launched special operations to eliminate channels in the republic through which drugs are transited from Afghanistan to Russia, reported Anatoly Vyborov, chief of the department to combat drug trafficking of Kazakhstan's Interior Ministry at a republican conference in Astana on Monday.

The special operations "Kanal" and Arna" will be carried out on Kazakhstan's automobile roads and railway lines linking Central Asian districts with Russian regions.

It was noted at the conference that the struggle against the transit of drugs across Kazakhstan's territory to Russia and further on to Europe is now the main problem the country's law-enforcement bodies are faced with. During the first five months of the current year the police of Kazakhstan has exposed almost 6,000 drug-related crimes. About 5 tons of various narcotic means, including over 40 kg heroin have been confiscated.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that some of the drugs are produced in Kazakhstan. According to the Interior Ministry of the republic, drug-containing plants are grown on more than 1 million hectares in the republic.