CHISINAU, Moldova - Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of 10 other former Soviet republics met Monday to agree on ways to improve joint crime-fighting, including strengthening borders and combatting the illegal drug trade. On the eve of the summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Putin held bilateral meetings with seven of his counterparts. In the most closely watched meeting, he and Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze called a time-out in a venomous dispute over alleged Georgian aid to Chechen rebels. Putin said he had received a pledge that Georgia would no longer hold up extradition of a group of Chechens who are wanted in Russia, and the two agreed that their border guards should increase cooperation, up to joint patrols, to prevent rebel incursions. [continues 395 words]
MOSCOW - Hidden inside cabbages, hollowed walnuts, even the bellies of desperately poor pregnant women, Afghan heroin steadily flows into Russia, joining a stream of illegal drugs that officials warn is a growing threat to the nation's stability. Over the past five years, Russia has become a major way station on the trafficking route from Afghanistan to European markets. After a monthlong lull at the start of the war in Afghanistan last fall, the trade has picked up again, Russian police say. They report seizing 1,100 pounds of heroin so far this year, along with more than 2,000 pounds stopped on the border between Afghanistan and the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan. [continues 1132 words]
MOSCOW-Hidden inside cabbages, hollowed walnuts, even the bellies of desperately poor pregnant women, Afghan heroin steadily flows into Russia, joining a stream of illegal drugs that officials warn is a growing threat to the nation's stability. Over the past half decade, Russia has become a major way station on the trafficking route from Afghanistan to European markets. After a monthlong lull at the start of the war in Afghanistan last fall, the trade has picked up again, Russian police say. They report seizing a half ton of heroin so far this year, along with more than 940 kilograms (2,068 pounds) stopped on the border between Afghanistan and the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan. [continues 1198 words]
MOSCOW (Associated Press) -- Russian security officials on Tuesday announced the arrest on drug charges of a U.S. Fulbright scholar they alleged had intelligence training -- and said it was a reminder that Russia must be vigilant for foreign spies. John Edward Tobin, a 24-year-old graduate student at Voronezh State University in central Russia, was detained while purchasing drugs, the Federal Security Service, or FSB, said in a statement. He was charged with illegal possession of drugs, which can bring up to three years in a Russian prison, said Pavel Bolshunov, an FSB spokesman in Voronezh. [continues 516 words]
