TASHKENT, May 17 (RIA Novosti) - Uzbek security officers have seized a large batch of drugs from Afghanistan, a spokesman for the National Security Service said on Sunday.
The security officers detained an Afghan national trying to cross the Amu Darya River in a rubber boat and seized 25 kilograms of crude opium from him, the spokesman said but failed to specify, however, the date of the operation.
A similar case was registered in early April 2009 when an Afghan national tried to smuggle over 25 kg of crude opium while attempting to cross the Amu Darya River in a boat, the spokesman said.
Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian republics are a major gateway to Russia and Europe for the continual flow of drugs from Afghanistan, the world's leading producer of opium and heroin.
