Drug seizures up in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan seized 266 kilograms (585 pounds) of heroin last year, an increase from the previous year after authorities beefed up border security, an official said Wednesday.

Law enforcement agencies also confiscated 665 kilograms (1,465 pounds) of opium during the year, government official Kurban Toreyev said.

No figures for 2003 were available.

Last year, authorities raised the budget for strengthening border controls to US$10 million (€7.7 million).

The former Soviet Central Asian republics are a conduit for drugs from neighboring Afghanistan, the world's largest producer of heroin, to Western markets.

Associated Press