MOSCOW. Jan 14 (Interfax) - The drug production volume in Afghanistan has reached a record level and this poses a direct threat to Russia, Russian Federal Drug Control Service Chief Viktor Ivanov said.
"This issue is of special significance for Russia because of the ongoing negative developments in Afghanistan and the changes coming in 2014 [the withdrawal of Western forces' contingent]," Ivanov said at a meeting with reporters in Moscow on the occasion of Press Day on Tuesday.
According to Ivanov, drug production in Afghanistan reached a record level of 209,000 hectares in 2013. "This is a record high, this has never happened before," he said.
Since early 2014, the Federal Drug Control Service held a number of operations against drug organizations and several weapons and drug shipments have been seized, Ivanov said.
Over 60 drug dens were liquidated in Russia during the New Year holidays and in the days following them, the Federal Drug Control Service said on January 13.
"Since January 1 to January 12, 2014, employees of the Russian Federal Drug Control Service closed several major drug supplies channels. Sixty-three drug dens were liquidated during this time," the Federal Drug Control Service press office told Interfax on January 13.
Since early January, 169 kilograms of heroine, 20.5 kilos of hashish, 964 kilos of marijuana, 166 kilos of synthetic drugs and 11.4 of psychotropic substances - a total of 725 shipments - were seized in Russia, the press office said.
According to the information of the Federal Drug Control Service, up to 100,000 people die in Russia because of drugs annually.