MOSCOW, May 14. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian drug police together with their Afghan counterparts will hold a special operation in Afghanistan to curb drug trafficking, head of the Federal Service for Control over Drug Circulation Viktor Ivanov said at the 5th meeting of heads of the drug watchdogs of the Central Asian anti-drug quartet on Wednesday.
“I also note that another joint operation with Afghan drug watchdog will be held in the next few days as the first stage of special operation codenamed "Channel - Southern Trap". The special operation will combine a combat operation and strategic drills to suppress transnational drug-trafficking groups that use the Afghan province of Badakhshan for Afghan drug trafficking,” Ivanov said.
He noted that the special operation would be aimed at drilling practical cooperation and elements of combat interoperability of special task forces and coordinated actions with anti-drug agencies in the countries which were brought together in the Central Asian anti-drug quartet and Iran with due account of a possible transformation of the format in quintet.
“We would like to see Iran in our group, because this is a country located in a drug production center,” the Russian drug police chief said.