MOSCOW, February 18. /TASS/. More than 2.5 tonnes of narcotics were seized by Russian transport police last year, the Interior Ministry told TASS.

"In 2019, [transport police] officers seized more than 2.5 tonnes of drugs, which is 2.6 times more than a year before," the ministry said.

Throughout the year, the officers escorted more than 550,000 trains, including more than 150,000 inter-regional trains and 400,000 commute trains.

"As a result, the amount of crime on trains shrank," the ministry noted.

Overall, in 2019, the transport police officers cracked 23,000 criminal cases, and identified more than 20,000 perpetrators," the ministry added.