from my security report:
TAJIKISTAN: On Monday, Tajik customs officers apprehended a Health Ministry official when she attempted to smuggle 12 pounds of heroin through the Dushanbe Airport. The suspect hid the drugs inside lemons. Customs officers became suspicious of the woman’s lack of luggage. Since the beginning of 2003, Tajik customs officers have arrested eight drug couriers carrying more than 20 pounds of heroin. In 2002, airport customs officers seized only five pounds of drugs.
from my security report:
TAJIKISTAN: On Monday, Tajik customs officers apprehended a Health Ministry official when she attempted to smuggle 12 pounds of heroin through the Dushanbe Airport. The suspect hid the drugs inside lemons. Customs officers became suspicious of the woman’s lack of luggage. Since the beginning of 2003, Tajik customs officers have arrested eight drug couriers carrying more than 20 pounds of heroin. In 2002, airport customs officers seized only five pounds of drugs.
A Eurasianet article on relations between Russian and Turkmenistan.
I added some new sites to the sidebar. Russian websites are a surprisingly rich source of news about Central Asia, and there are a number of them available in English. You do have to take the news with a grain of salt. News and rumor are often on and the same in the Russian news.