DUSHANBE, January 24, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Resident of Khatlon’s Panj district has been detained in northern Tajikistan on suspicion of having been involved in drug trafficking.

According to press service of the Drug Control Agency (DCA), officers from the Sughd counternarcotics directorate detained a car Toyota Land Cruiser, driven by resident of the Panj district, at the traffic police checkpoint Qarasaqol Toyota Land on January 22.  When searching they car, the drug control officers found 23 packages containing narcotic drug that tested positive to heroin weighing 21.164 kilograms.

Additional operation by the drug control officers led to the arrest of two other members of this organized criminal ring living in Dushanbe, the press service said.

The Sughd counternarcotics directorate has instituted criminal proceedings on drug trafficking charges and an investigation is under way.