KAZAN. Nov 7 (Interfax) - The Federal Drug Control Service has seized 13 kilograms of heroin with the total value of almost 20 million rubles from Tajik and Azerbaijani nationals in Kazan, the service's Tatarstan department said on Monday.
A 33-year-old Tajik was selling the heroin in a Kazan market disguised as an Oriental sweets vendor.
"He was a police officer once, so he knew how to create a disguise. The drug enforcement officers paid attention to him only because he kept moving around the marketplace and writing down something in his notebook," the department said.
His accomplice, a citizen of Azerbaijan, was selling small batches of heroin.
"The Tajik lived in a three-room apartment. His accomplice was officially unemployed, but drove a business-class Volkswagen, had an upscale apartment and squandered money," the department said.
The drug dealer fiercely resisted arrest. Laboratory tests showed marijuana and morphine in his bloodstream. He also had no driving license.
Officers found three kilograms of packed heroin under the car's backseat.
Ten kilograms of heroin were found in a suitcase closed with tape at the market's warehouse.
Both men were arrested, and may be sentenced to up to 20 years if found guilty.
Tatarstan drug enforcement officers seized ten kilograms of heroin last year, and more than 23 kilograms this year.