MOSCOW, April 14 (RIA Novosti) – Almost 900 kilograms (2,000 lbs) of Afghan heroin were seized in Russia in the first three months of 2013, the Russian Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN) said on Sunday.
A total of 615 kilograms (1,400 lbs) of heroin were seized by the Russian Drug Control Service, the statement said.
The vast majority of the heroin consumed in Russia is from Afghanistan. The United Nations says some 20 percent of the almost 400 tons of heroin produced annually in the war-ravaged state travel through Central Asia before reaching the Russian market.
Some 30,000 Russians die from heroin abuse every year, according to official statistics, accounting for around one-third of all heroin-related deaths worldwide. NGOs estimate that there are up to three million heroin addicts in the country.