In his words, unsolved social problems push some Tajik people into drug smuggling.
"The dimensions of this problem can be seen in the results of law-enforcers' efforts. For one, in 2003, 6,100 citizens were detained on Russian territory, including 1,500 Tajik citizens, i.e. nearly every fourth person," said Skvortsov.
This trend has persisted. In the first six months of 2004, over 2,000 drug-related crimes were registered. The detainees included 512 citizens of Tajikistan, said the spokesman for the Interior Ministry.
Moreover, in 2003, 3,700 foreigners were detained for drug crimes, including 916 Tajik citizens, he added. "The problem of drug smuggling is closely linked to illegal migration," stressed Skvortsov.
He remarked the high level of co-operation between the two countries' interior ministries in the fight against drug trafficking. For example, a series of successful operations were conducted in 2004.
In particular, a controlled heroin delivery was carried out along the route of Dushanbe-Moscow-St. Petersburg. As a result, 15 kg of this drug were confiscated, said Skvortsov. A large batch of 696 kg of opium and 36 kg of heroin was detained in Bashkiria with the help of Tajik colleagues, he added.
The Russian and Tajik Interior Ministries come out for facilitating extradition of detained criminals, said Vladimir Gordienko, head of the Main department of the criminal investigation of the criminal police of the Russian Interior Ministry.
"We have a complicated extradition procedure now based on international approach and the relevant convention. This is a very long way," he said.
He added that 23 criminals on the wanted list of Tajikistan were detained in the first six months of 2004 in Russia. During the same period, 30 Russian citizens on the wanted list were detained in Tajikistan.
According to Gordienko, the rate of crimes committed by Tajik people in Russia is growing further: 3,173 crimes were committed in 2003, and 2,730 crimes within six months in 2004.
This is largely due to migration flows, he said. "In 2002, we registered only 125,000 foreign citizens, in 2003 - 225,000, and this is only a small part of the total number of those arriving in Russia," he said.
Among foreign criminals, the largest number of crimes are committed by Azeri citizens, then by Ukrainian, Moldovan and Tajik people, he added.
