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Russian drug control service accuses Turkey of being transit country for Afghan heroin

Afghan drugs bring about $150 bln in criminal money that results in destabilization of the situation in the transit countries, including Turkey, head of the Russian Federal Drug Control Service says

Russian Federal Drug Control Service Viktor Ivanov Anton Novoderezhkin/ITAR-TASS

Russian Federal Drug Control Service Viktor Ivanov

© Anton Novoderezhkin/ITAR-TASS

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Russia busts crime rings hauling Afghan narcotics

MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. Turkey is used by drug dealers as a transit country for heroin trafficking from Afghanistan, head of the Russian Federal Drug Control Service Viktor Ivanov told reporters on Monday.

"In this case, oil trafficking coincides with drug trafficking, but the directions are different. While Afghan heroin is trafficked through Turkey, oil is delivered to Europe through the Balkan countries, in the opposite direction," Ivanov said when asked about the income of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group banned in Russia generated by illegal drug trade.

According to him, "It’s really a lot of money generated by drug trafficking." "Afghan narcotic drugs bring about $150 billion in criminal money that gets into criminal circulation and results in destabilization of the situation in the transit countries, and Turkey is one of such countries," Ivanov said.

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Foreign policy Afghanistan Turkey Fight against drugs

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