MOSCOW, September 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN) said it might open an office in Afghanistan in early 2006.
"This will help us to work with our Afghan counterparts and with representatives of those countries that are fighting drug trafficking in the region, including with U.S. law enforcement agencies," FSKN Director Viktor Cherkesov said.
Cherkessov said the amount of Afghan-produced drugs seized by Russia had significantly increased since the withdrawal of the Russian border guard from the Tajik-Afghan border. He said Tajik border guards were less trained and equipped to handle the influx of narcotics.
According to the UN Office for Drug Control, illegal crop areas of opium poppy grew 63% to 130,000 hectares last year over 80 hectares in 2003. Opium production hit 4,200 tons in 2004.
