MOSCOW, July 10 (RIA Novosti) - Drug police in Russia have seized 16 tons of various drugs since the beginning of the year, the head of Federal Drug Control Service said on Friday.
"Law enforcement bodies have seized 16 tons of various drugs in the past six months," Viktor Ivanov said at a roundtable on Afghan drug production, adding that this was less than the figure for the same period of 2008.
He highlighted the increase in the smuggling of Afghan heroin.
"From 30 % to 50% of the heroin produced in Afghanistan is smuggled into Russia," Ivanov said. "Ninety percent of drug addicts in Russia use heroin from Afghanistan, the trafficking of which is continuously increasing."
Ivanov also said that during President Barak Obama's visit to Moscow, the U.S. and Russia decided to establish a bilateral working group to tackle the trade in drugs from Afghanistan. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will head the group.
