50% Surge in Drug Seizures Along Tajikistan–Afghanistan Border in 2025
DID Press: Tajik authorities say drug seizures along the country’s border with Afghanistan increased by around 50 percent in 2025 compared with the previous year, reaching a total of 2,742 kilograms.
Zafar Samad, head of Tajikistan’s Drug Control Agency, announced the figures at a press conference, noting that about 1,824 kilograms of narcotics were seized along the same border in 2024—indicating growth of more than 50 percent this year.
According to official data, the largest share of seizures in 2025 occurred in the southern border province of Khatlon, with approximately 2,566 kilograms confiscated. Another 186 kilograms were seized along the border of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region.
Samad also reported a sharp rise in armed clashes between Tajik security forces and Afghan drug traffickers. Seventeen armed incidents were recorded along the border in 2025, compared with six last year. These clashes resulted in the deaths of 10 traffickers and two Tajik national security personnel.
Pointing to the lack of official cooperation with the Afghan side, Samad said no formal negotiations or inter-agency coordination currently exist between the two countries. Despite this, drug trafficking from Afghanistan through Tajikistan to other destinations continues.
Overall, Tajik security and law enforcement agencies seized around 5,280 kilograms of narcotics nationwide in 2025—an increase of 21 percent year-on-year. Of this total, 253.4 kilograms were synthetic drugs, nearly double the amount seized last year, with methamphetamine accounting for 97 percent.
During the same period, the activities of 44 drug trafficking networks were disrupted, and 132 criminal cases involving 180 suspects were referred to court. In addition, 22 foreign nationals were arrested on drug trafficking charges, with a combined 275 kilograms of narcotics seized from them.
Despite the rise in seizures and violence, the head of Tajikistan’s Drug Control Agency said the situation remains under control. Following the press conference, 316 kilograms of confiscated narcotics were destroyed in the presence of journalists.