Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security said on Tuesday that one Afghan national was killed during an armed clash with border guards in the Khatlon region, as four individuals attempted to smuggle drugs into the country from Afghanistan.
According to a statement cited by Sputnik Tajikistan, the confrontation occurred after the suspects ignored orders to surrender and opened fire on Tajik security forces. One individual was killed, while the other three reportedly fled back across the border into Afghan territory.
Authorities said the incident took place during a counter-narcotics operation targeting cross-border trafficking networks. Approximately 72 kilograms of narcotics were confiscated, along with an AK-47 rifle and a quantity of ammunition.
The committee noted that investigations are ongoing and warned that organised criminal groups remain active in the border areas between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, using remote terrain to smuggle drugs and weapons.
Tajikistan has long been a key transit route in the regional drug trade, and its security forces frequently report violent encounters with traffickers along the Afghan border.
