A tide of heroin floods through Tajikistan to the West
Hampered by poor resources, border guards in the impoverished former Soviet state of Tajikistan are losing the battle to stem the tide as heroin from Afghanistan pours through Central Asia on its way to Britain. More than 90 per cent of heroin sold in Britain comes from Afghanistan, according to the UN. Heroin is pouring through Tajikistan, the poorest country in the former Soviet Union, because anti-terrorism operations in southern Afghanistan make it difficult for smugglers to cross into Pakistan and Iran.
Drug control forces seized 4.4 tons of heroin - more than double their haul for the same period last year - but it is just one tenth of the total amount being smuggled, law enforcement officials believe.
Cultivation of opium poppies, the raw material for heroin, was banned in Afghanistan by the Taliban, but production has rocketed since the regime was driven from power.
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