Viktor Ivanov said police had uncovered a major international drug trafficking network that involved Tajik nationals who had Russian citizenship.
Two suspects have been detained, and an investigation is underway.
The first stage of the operation was conducted in the West Siberian city of Omsk, where 133 kilograms (293 lbs) of heroin were seized. In St. Petersburg, drug police seized a total of 127 kilograms (280 lbs) of heroin.
According to the Federal Drug Control Service, around 91,000 drug-related crimes, including 69,000 serious offenses, were recorded in Russia in the first 11 months of 2008.
Officers have seized 26 tons of drugs, including more than 1,700 kg of heroin, in the country since the start of the year.
Ivanov said the current financial crisis could boost the drug trade in Afghanistan, which remains the world's leading producer of heroin. Drug production in Afghanistan has increased 44 times since the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was deployed in the country.
"In the conditions of the global financial crisis, tens of thousands of Afghan citizens have been out of work. For them growing opium poppy and drug trafficking is the only way to survive," he said.
