MOSCOW, December 31 (RIA Novosti)
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Russian authorities confiscated a record 50 tons of illicit drugs, mostly heroin and marijuana, in 2010, said Viktor Ivanov, head of the Federal Drug Control Service.
"A total of three tons of heroin and 33 tons of marijuana were confiscated. In addition, some 39 drug laboratories were destroyed," Ivanov said in an interview with Russia 24 television on Thursday.
An estimated 90% of heroin consumed in Russia is trafficked from Afghanistan via Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Russia has some 5 million drug addicts, mostly young people between the ages of 30 to 35. Up to 40,000 Russians die from drug abuse every year.