MOSCOW, May 31 (RIA Novosti) - Russia wants to establish anti-drug buffer zones around Afghanistan, but is against any measures that could lead the country's international isolation, the head of Russia's narcotics service said Thursday.
Viktor Cherkesov, the head of the Federal Drug Control Service, told a conference on illegal drug trafficking that Russia favored a comprehensive international system to combat the drug threat from Afghanistan, including through the establishment of the zones.
"The fight against illegal drug trafficking from Afghanistan is our top priority, as almost 100% of the heroin and opium on the Russian drug market is from Afghanistan," he said.
"Large drug-sale zones have emerged in Russia in the last 10-15 years along drug routes via the country," he said. "Russia became a major drug market, where the drugs business is one of most profitable forms of criminal activity."
Cherkesov said earlier this year that 4,700kg of heroin had been seized in Russia in 2005 alone, compared to only a few kilograms per year 10 years ago. He added around 80,000 drug-related crimes had been registered in 2005, 50% more than in 2004, with about two thirds of these crimes connected with drug sale rather than possession.
Cherkesov told today's conference that the proposed measures would be more effective if they were taken jointly with the Afghan authorities, which could fight illegal drug manufacturing inside the country.
