MOSCOW, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- About 90 percent of the heroin imported to Russia comes from Afghanistan via Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, a Russian drug-control official said Friday.
Viktor Ivanov, head of the Federal Drugs Control Service, said Russia then serves as a conduit to the rest of Europe, the Novosti news agency reported. Ivanov, speaking at a meeting of the General Staff Academy, argued the warlords in northern Afghanistan who provide a "bridgehead" for drug trafficking are a greater threat than the Taliban.
"The coalition forces are not conducting an effective fight against them," he said.
The Afghan region near the borders with the central Asian countries has modern drug-processing labs, Ivanov said.
He said the United States has made a "mistake" with its continued support of the Northern Alliance.
