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Tajikistan Tackles Drug Trafficking
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Dushanbe, Tajikistan, June 2009—Tajikistan sits on the frontlines of efforts to staunch a flow of narcotics from Afghanistan and Central Asia to Europe and Russia. The illicit drugs, including heroin and opium, are creating serious human health and development problems in Central Asia and Europe. In response, Tajikistan, with the help of the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme, is stepping up efforts to cut the supply line. At the cross roads of routes that move narcotics from Afghanistan north to Russia and west to Europe, landlocked Tajikistan is well positioned to tackle the supply problem. In the latest such effort, 23 members of Tajikistan’s Border Troops, Customs Service and Drug Control Agency participated in two training sessions to help with drug detection. As part of the training, the drug profiling units learned to use specialized equipment including endoscopes, test systems and other devices. The EU-UNDP Central Asia Drug Action Programme provided the equipment, which cost roughly 300,000 Euro. Other CADAP efforts to tackle drug trafficking in Tajikistan include drug sniffing dogs, mobile forensics laboratories (pictured) and five drug detection centers at railway stations and airports. In October 2008, Tajik drug enforcement officials, along with colleagues from Central Asia nations, also participated in a tour to study drug detection efforts at airports and railways in Paris, Dusseldorf, Amsterdam and Brussels. All of this is in response to a growing market for illicit narcotics harvested and produced by Tajikistan’s southern neighbor, Afghanistan. Although the trade has been in place for than a decade, the problem has grown particularly acute in recent years. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Afghanistan’s opium production increased 42 percent between 2001 and 2008. Many of the narcotics then pass through Central Asia, particularly Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan on their way to markets in Europe and Russia. The ensuing social damage from the trade is wide-ranging and is a setback to progress made in economic and social development. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime cites trafficking as a major source of funding for terrorists, a source of criminal activity and a deterrent to economic activity. Trafficking also contributes to rising rates of HIV/AIDS, particularly through the use of infected needles. At the same, trafficking also creates a shadow economy and provides a ready source of illicit income in a region vulnerable to poverty. Roughly 80 percent of the Tajik population lives in poverty and the per capita income is $550 (US). Due to the global economic crisis, the numbers could grow, leaving more Tajiks susceptible to involvement in drug trafficking. Despite strong economic growth between 2000 and 2007, the World Bank projects Tajikistan’s growth to fall to 3 percent in 2009. Launched in 2004 and set to end in 2010, the EU-UNDP collaborative drug action programmes (including public health initiatives) are seen as an important way to reduce the appeal of drug trafficking. The drugs seized so far indicate progress made in reducing supply. Tajikistan, for instance, continues to seize the largest proportion of opium in the region, constituting approximately 58 percent of total seizures in Central Asia. In the first half of 2008, it also seized nearly 500 kg of heroin.
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