Photo: sputniknews.ru
Two Afghan nationals were killed during an armed clash with Tajik border guards and officers from the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) during an anti-drug operation, Khovar.tj reports.
According to officials, Tajik forces had tracked a group of drug traffickers led by 50-year-old Azarkhon Saidumar, a native of Afghanistan’s Badakhshan Province. The group crossed into Tajikistan illegally near the Shamsiddin Shohin district.
When security forces attempted to detain them, the smugglers refused to surrender and opened fire. In the ensuing shootout, Saidumar and his associate Azizi Rozmuhammad were killed. The remaining group members fled back across the border into Afghanistan.
At the scene, authorities recovered:
– two Kalashnikov rifles with a loaded magazine and 17 rounds,
– a night vision device,
– a rubber boat,
– three bags containing 59 bricks of opium and one brick of methamphetamine,
with a total weight of 58.5 kilograms.
A criminal case has been opened by the SCNS regional office in Khatlon Province, and search operations are underway to locate and detain the remaining members of the smuggling group.
