Police in Russia`s Far East have arrested two drug couriers in possession of 10.6 kilograms (23 lbs) of heroin, a spokesman for the Primorye Territory`s drug control service said on Tuesday.
Yury Govorushko said two Tajik nationals were detained as a result of a local-drug operation spanning several months. He said it was the largest shipment of heroin seized in the region for 10 years.
"On the black market, the drugs would cost about a million [U.S.] dollars. Experts said the amount is sufficient for 100,000 doses," Govorushko said.
He said the Afghan-produced heroin had been smuggled into the regional center Vladivostok by train. And the two couriers were arrested in the Pacific port of Nakhodka, where they had transported the drugs by car.
Ten kilos of heroin were hidden in a washing machine bought for the purpose and the other 600 grams in empty juice cartons, Govorushko said, adding the couriers had resisted arrest and tried to escape.
He said the Tajiks, who were in Russia illegally, face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to 1 million rubles (over $32,000) on drug trafficking charges.
Govorushko said quantities of Afghan heroin smuggled into Russia`s Far East had risen significantly recently. In the first six months of this year alone, 615 heroin seizures were reported in the region, an average three a day, against 228 seizures in 2005.
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