Up to 75 tons of drugs enter Russia every year
Some 75 tons of drugs are annually smuggled from Afghanistan into Russia via Central Asian states, a deputy head of Russia`s Federal Drug Control Service said on Wednesday.
Around 30% of heroin originating from Afghanistan, the world`s leading drug producer, comes through Central Asia, which serves as a transit area for drug smugglers, Oleg Safonov said.
"Due to the extension of the Russian-Kazakh border, the major share of drugs comes into the territory of the Urals Federal District and is then spread across the entire territory of Russia," he said.
Safonov said 120,000 people were charged with drug-related crimes last year. "But we understand that this problem cannot be solved only by measures taken by police, it is a complex issue," Safonov said.
The official said drugs kill about 30,000 Russians each year and called for introducing measures to improve treatment in drug rehabilitation centers across Russia.
Russia, which has suffered a steep rise in heroin consumption, has been one of the countries most affected by the increase and has major differences with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan over its strategy in dealing with opium cultivation and the wider drug trade.
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