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War cuts heroin trade, not stockpiles

Russian guards count heroin packets smuggled from Afghanistan and Tajikistan

By CNN Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Heroin addicts searching for a fix are having a harder time finding their drug of choice on the streets of some Russian cities.

Nearly all the heroin used in Russia and Europe comes from Afghanistan -- the world's largest supplier of opium and the heroin that's made from it.

Russia's anti-drug police say the ongoing military action in Afghanistan is cutting back somewhat on the supply.

But drug smuggling continues, sometimes by individuals -- often women -- making their way from the region through neighboring Tajikistan and onto Moscow.

Russian anti-drug police say that means major stockpiles in Afghanistan are still there.

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"They're very well hidden, and they're not located near military objects. Right now the Taliban targets are being struck, but there is still a large supply of drugs out there and it can be detected and destroyed only during a ground operation," says Victor Shushakov of the Russian Interior Ministry's anti-drug department.

According to Russian and international anti-drug officials, Afghanistan's ruling Taliban relies on the opium trade to finance its government and military operations, bringing in an estimated $10 million to $50 million annually.

But it's not just the Taliban who are making money from the narcotics trade.

Their opponent, the Northern Alliance, also controls areas where opium is being raised.

Last year, the Taliban banned the cultivation of opium poppies, driving the regional price sky high -- from $44 per kilo to more than $700, according to U.S. officials.

Yet since then prices worldwide have remained stable -- despite the cutback in production.

That is evidence, anti-drug officials say, that Afghanistan is still supplying the world with opium from its large stockpiles -- making money for both sides in the Afghan conflict.