Fifty tons of poppy destroyed

48,600 kg of poppy seeds were destroyed outside Baku Tuesday in an action attended by vice-premier Ali Hasanov, interior minister Ramil Usubov, deputy chairman of the state customs committee Aydin Aliyev, US Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Ercan Murat, representatives of ministries of justice, education and health, foreign diplomats, and journalists.

According to specialist estimates, the plantation of 48,600 kg of poppy seeds could reap 400 tons of drug-bearing substances.

The drugs were discovered on June 19, 2000, as the cargo was being transported in railway containers. The inspection ascertained that the cargo was originally from Afghanistan and was destined to reach India via Azerbaijan and Georgia.*