Tatarstan Police Bust Traffickers

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: November 28, 2012 (Issue # 1737)

MOSCOW — Drug police seized more than 175 kilograms of Afghan heroin in a special operation in the Tatarstan republic, the director of the Federal Drug Control Service said Tuesday.

“On the night of Nov. 23, four drug traffickers were arrested in Naberezhniye Chelny, and 175 kilograms of heroin were seized with a diacetylmorphine concentration of 55 percent,” Viktor Ivanov told reporters, according to RIA-Novosti.

The drug control service chief explained that the drug seizure came as part of an operation codenamed “Cartel” that has sought to clamp down on an international trafficking ring with bases in Afghanistan, Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.

The traffickers delivered concentrated heroin from Afghanistan to Russia, Ivanov said.

So far, the operation has lasted four years. In total, police have uncovered and detained more than 25 trafficking bosses, 100 accomplices and confiscated 750 kilograms of Afghan heroin, he said.