| Russian border guards patrolling Tajikistan's border with Afghanistan seized some 120 kilograms of heroin destined for Western markets. A border-guard spokesman said today that the haul has an estimated street value of $1.5 billion. The spokesman did not say when the heroin was seized. Tajikistan is a main smuggling route for drugs destined for Western markets from Afghanistan, the producer of about 80 percent of the world's opium, from which heroin is made. Since the beginning of the year, Tajik police have confiscated a total of 3.5 tons of heroin. Last year, Tajik authorities confiscated a record 5.6 tons of Afghan heroin. Tajikistan shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Afghanistan, which is patrolled by thousands of Tajik and Russian troops. |