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Tajikistan has strongly won a reputation as one of the world’s key transit states in the international illegal traffic of drugs. In a considerable degree it was promoted by heavy economic situation in Tajikistan after civil war, slackening system of the state control, the followed crash of the economy, sudden growth of unemployment, and also by the greater extent of border with Afghanistan (1344 km), providing the increased narcostream from this country. In many cases, because of these circumstances the number of drug addicts and concomitant illnesses was sharply increased in Tajikistan (including HIV/AIDS).
On official data, in the country the registered number of drug addicts is 18 thousand people. However, experts point out that the real figure in 20 times exceeds official statistics. Actually, on the 6 million population of Tajikistan the number narco-dependent persons is around 300-400 thousand people.
In August 2005 after withdrawal of the Russian guards from the Tajik-afghan frontier control over the border was passed on to special services and Committee over protection of state border (C.P.S.B.) of Tajikistan, which contrary very quickly and actively “have joined” in drug-dealing and war of narco-clans. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (the U.N. O.D.C.) in the past year an illegal cultivation of opium poppy in Afghanistan increased on 59 % and has reached its record volumes. Such "economy" leads to degradation not only Afghanistan, but also deteriorates the neighboring countries involving them into independent cultivation of narcotic plants and creation of competitive productions.
Recently high rates of growth of the narcotic production have shown in the Badakhshan province adjoining to Tajikistan.
«Before we were poor and dieing of hunger. And now, everyone in our village has two, and even three clothes and many good things, we are full and hot hungry! " - a peasant woman from Deh-Dehi village in Badakhshan tells the story experts from School of East and African researches of the London university. No one here makes a secret that drug-dealers are on friendly terms with "big officials" from Tajikistan. Local militia «dzhaba» protects fields of poppy and officials from government in Kabul do not control this mountain hamlet. Badakhshan is that main road for transportation of poppies and other “raw materials” to processing laboratories in Tajikistan.
Thus, the palm tree of leadership in creation of the competitive drug-economy steadily passes to Tajikistan. For last several years on a background of industrial and agricultural crisis in Tajikistan, the country more distinctly has been experiencing splitting of the society between a narrow circle of very rich people and the overwhelming mass of poverty-stricken beggars. In an order to estimate this tendency, it is enough to walk on the dwellings arrays of Dushanbe and any other city to see grandiose private residences on the general background of wattle and daub, clay-walled hut buildings of the middle of the last century or smart foreign cars swishing on the broken roads.
Obviously, that in conditions of the stagnating economy and in the lack of more than one million the able-bodied population leading a life of farm and construction laborers in Russia, such "miracles" of architecture and automobile boom are possible because of the scale of corruption, or due to certain criminal schemes. Actually, it is not so much complicated to realize that a source of this unexpected "prosperity" lies in manufacturing and illegal circulation of drugs, which promote both corruption, and creation of steady criminal groups. Now, among the "elite" circle in Tajikistan it is not strange to ask precisely the owner of the recently acquired luxury car "How many kgs have spent to purchase it?
In today’s Tajikistan it has become a norm to arrange purchase of houses, cars or cattle not in money but in a certain of its equivalent in opium. This is to state that bribes and “presents” to public officials and police taken from the poor population of Tajikistan, which earns only $20-30 a month paid often with delays, are not enough to save up big capital for these purposes. Thus, in February 2007 major of the State committee of national security of Tajikistan Rakhmatov was accused of smuggling about 200 kg of drugs, which made up over 144 kg of the opium-raw and 53 kg of heroin. In October 2006 about 5 kg of heroin and over 60 kg of opium-raw were confiscated in Penjikent district from a deputy chief of the frontier post and officer of the C.P.S.B Arbobov. And that are the most known facts.
Rendering of "assistance" to a drug mafia by law enforcement bodies of Tajikistan becomes "a business" as usual. Frontier guards and experts the over drug mcontrol (which "everyone see and understand") basically catch small fry by the order of "competitors" or punish the dealers that refuse to share "fairly" with officials for providing of support in the drug dealing. The most interesting fact is that these officials in "the higher echelons " of a power, as well as true nature of their well-being, are well-known to the majority of the population, but "lacks" in the legislation seriously limit capacities of law enforcement bodies to pursue persons from this specified category.
Indirect confirmation of the scales of this phenomenon became a statement made in the end of the last year by the president Rakhmon. Then he acknowledged that for the last 5 years 800 officials, who had been directly engaged in the struggle against illegal spread of drug addiction were condemned for corruption. At the same time, the majority of experts, including experts of the United Nations, cite all data about growth of number of highly professional laboratories and underground mini-factories on production of heroin in Tajikistan. Information specifies that some of these laboratories operate under the control of the high-ranking officials.
In Tajikistan in the days of the Civil war and even after it, mostly on the territories not under control of an official Dushanbe, there were greater sowings of poppy plants and functioning of underground factories on opium processing. The remote mountain district of Tajikistan provides a trouble-free work of such narcotic laboratories, allowing smart dealers easily to hide the equipment. What are they now doing «in a most difficult period» for the country?
Business with narcotics, as well as any other kind of activity, is not stagnant and expands its sphere and is improved by way of the organization of production of the «finished good» - heroin. The basic areas of manufacture of heroin today are province of Khatlon and the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province (the G.B.A.P.). The G.B.A.P. remains a key point for transportation of the opium-raw onto Tajik bank of Pyanj river. Three basic highways of the international value pass through its territory on routes “Khujand-Osh”, “Khorugh-Osh” and “Jergital-Osh”. In a summer period drugs are taken across from Tajikistan to south Osh in Kyrgyzstan via the mountainous pedestrian and equestrian transitions.
Production of heroin yields large financial income and is much more profitable than its transit via territory of the country. Transit of heroin is capable, under best conditions, to bring &15-20 thousand of profit. At the same time, the cost of heroin of 1 kg in Kyrgyzstan is $15 thousand, in Almata - $35-40 thousand, in Moscow - $100-150 thousand, and in Europe it is even expensive. So, why to divide the «market of production» with a basic competitor, such as Afghanistan?
The director of the Federal service of the Russian Federation on control over illegal turn of drugs V.Cherkesov has said that the Russian market of consumption and sale of drugs basically had been generated due to external expansion. It is necessary to inform that the heaviest consequences are caused by narcotics of the opium row and synthetic origin. All heroin in Russia comes from Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
On official data provided by the Russian drug constabularies, in 2006 in Russian Federation out of 18 000 foreigners instituted criminal proceeding against their involvement in the drug smugglings the citizens of Tajikistan comprised 12 890 persons. It has been also stated that to report on all regions of Russia about the facts of drug smuggling, generally heroin, and detention of citizens of Tajikistan almost impossible due to the time limits and scale of geography.
Examination of the drugs, mostly heroin, seized in the Russian Federation has shown that 30-32 % of them were made in Tajikistan. As a whole, by estimations of experts, Tajikistan becomes "a rising star" among the states involved in production and smuggling of drug" (the U.N. O.D.C. Report «About a situation with the illegal turn of drugs in Afghanistan – 2005»).
About 30 % of production and smuggling of drugs in the territory of Central Asia and Russia consists of narcotics of Tajikistan origin. If an annual turnover of the Afghani heroin in 2006 made 4.5-5 billion US dollar, the volume of the narcotic market in Tajikistan has reached around $1.5 billion. Today it has already made equal 60-70 % of the volume of Gross National Product of Tajikistan.
P.S. «A production of opium in Afghanistan is not criminal business. It is almost legal, modern and powerful economy". In the near future, it is obvious, so it will be possible to speak about Tajikistan (according to UN Office on Drugs and Crime).
Sergey Komlev
Posted March 31st, 2008 by borboru
