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Death rates from drug abuse double in Moscow in 2012

Over the six months of 2012, a total of 6,028 drug-related crimes, including 5,000 grave crimes, were registered

MOSCOW, July 18 (Itar-Tass) —— Death rates from drug abuse have doubled in Moscow in 2012 as compared with the previous year, head of the Moscow administration of the Federal Service for Drug Control Vyacheslav Davydov said on Tuesday.

“We report a dramatic increase of the number of deaths caused by drug overdosing. As many as 202 such cases have been registered, which is twice as many as in 2011,” he told journalists.

He explained this dramatic growth of drug-related deaths by the use of “home-made cheaper and inferior quality drugs.”

According to the Moscow anti-drug chief, the drug situation in the capital city is difficult. The number of officially registered drug addicts exceeds 26,000. Drug use dynamics show a growth of 2.3 percent against the previous year.

Over the six months of 2012, a total of 6,028 drug-related crimes, including 5,000 grave crimes, were registered. The figure is slightly bigger than in 2011, Davidov noted.

In the first six months of 2012, drug police eliminated 144 organized criminal gangs and 53 drug dens and seized a total of 298 kilograms of drugs and psychotropic substances. As many as 2,500 people, including 300 foreign citizens, were brought to criminal responsibility. Fifty two students and secondary school pupils, including 42 underage, were detained for drug use.

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