Russian guards in Tajikistan overnight (Thursday to Friday) have seized some 190 kilograms of heroin in several clashes with drug smugglers along the border with Afghanistan.
One incident resulted in a fire fight on the Pyandzh River during which the smugglers were killed by Russian guards. Thousands of Russian troops patrol the Tajik-Afghan border under an agreement between Moscow and Dushanbe.
The border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan is a major transit point for drugs smuggled out of Afghanistan aimed for Western Europe.