Drug traffickers held carrying heroin in stomach

December 27th, 2011 - 9:06 pm ICT by IANS  

Moscow, Dec 27 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Two drug couriers who had concealed heroin capsules in their stomachs have been detained at the airport of Russia’s Siberian city of Novosibirsk, the customs press service said Tuesday.

The two men, a Kyrgyz and a Tajik, arrived in Novosibirsk from Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek. The exact date of their detention was not reported.

“The drug couriers were trying to transport 30 cylindrical containers (with heroin) covered with latex in their stomachs,” a statement said, adding that the seized heroin 300 grams.

The detainees admitted they had been paid $1,000 each to transport the drugs. They face prison terms of up to seven years and a fine of up to one million rubles ($32,000) if found guilty of drug trafficking.

Up to 80 tonnes of heroin — some 20 percent of the world’s consumption — flows into Russia from Afghanistan every year via former Soviet Central Asian republics, according to UN estimates.

–IANS/RIA Novosti
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