Russian border guards patrolling the Tajikistan and Afghanistan frontier have seized more than 80 kilograms of heroin.
A borderguard spokesman told Russia's Itar-Tass news agency the troops spotted six smugglers crossing the border into Tajikistan today (Wednesday).
The spokesman said after a brief shootout the smugglers fled back into Afghanistan, leaving their horses and the drugs behind.
Russia has more than 10-thousand troops in Tajikistan to help the former Soviet republic maintain security on its borders. Tajikistan has become a key crossing point for illegal drugs bound for Russia and Europe.