The ministry said that Omurbek Tekebayev, traveling on a diplomatic passport, was detained in a Warsaw airport late Wednesday after a batch of heroin had been found in his luggage. The ex-speaker is believed to have arrived in the Polish capital to attend an international economic forum.
"In keeping with a district Warsaw prosecutor's order, [Tekebayev] has been placed in a detention center after being charged with smuggling drugs into Poland," a ministry news release said.
Tekebayev joined the opposition after resigning as speaker in February 2006 over a conflict with President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, his former ally swept into power on the back of last March's "tulip revolution." He has repeatedly accused the incumbent of failing to deliver on the election promises to fight corruption in the impoverished Central Asian state.
Earlier on Thursday, supporters of Tekebayev denounced his arrest as a provocation, alleging that Kyrgyzstan's special services had set him up.
His Ata Meken party said in a statement: "As an opposition leader, Omurbek Tekebayev has fallen victim to a provocation on the part of Kyrgyzstan's authorities."
