You're reading: Uzbekistan, U.S. will jointly combat drug trafficking

The Uzbek Interior Ministry and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have signed a memorandum of cooperation in countering drug trafficking and the spread of drug abuse, a ministry spokesman told Interfax on Thursday.

The document was signed following negotiations between Uzbekistan’s First Deputy Interior Minister Adkham Akhmedbayev and DEA’s Middle East and Central Asia Regional Director Mark Destito in Tashkent.

“The sides underscored the importance and the need of joint efforts in the fight against drug dealing and the spread of drug abuse. They expressed confidence that the signing of this document will help strengthen productive cooperation in tackling key drug-related problems and open up new prospects for further cooperation in these issues and counter-crime measures in general,” the spokesman said.

Up to 5,404 kilograms of drugs were confiscated in Uzbekistan in 2011, as compared with 4,716 kilograms the year before, the government’s National Drug Control Information and Analytical Center said.

According to Uzbek experts, Afghan drugs are smuggled into Uzbekistan mainly through Tajikistan, or directly from Afghanistan across the Amudarya River, located on the border.

A total of 107 foreign citizens were detained in Uzbekistan last year on suspicion of committing drug-related crimes.