Afghan Drugs to Russia: The Impact of the Connection
Russia is one of the largest markets for Afghan heroin. There are about 30,000 heroin-related deaths in Russia every year. Consequently, Russia faces some of the gravest health, socio-economic, and law enforcement challenges from Afghan narcotrafficking.
The United States has supplied the main military force in the now 12-year-long NATO deployment in Afghanistan. During this period, the Afghan opium and heroin trafficking economy has expanded 40 times according to estimates.
Afghanistan is the source for 80-90 percent of global opium production based on their poppy cultivation. This will likely continue to increase ahead of and after the 2014 ISAF withdrawal and U.S. drawdown.
Drugs and organized crime
