On October 30, 2026, the results of the “Channel-Caspian Lighthouse” subregional anti-drug operation were summed up as part of the implementation of the 2026 Plan of Key Activities of the Coordinating Council of Heads of Competent Drug Control Authorities of CSTO Member States (CCHCDCA).
From October 18 to 23 this year, in accordance with the 2026 Plan for the Joint Training of Command and Control Bodies and Formations of Forces and Assets of the Collective Security System of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the “Cobalt-2026” special exercise was held at the Magob training range of the Special Purpose Units Training Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan.
An international scientific and practical conference entitled “Greater Eurasia: Institutions, Development, Cooperation” was held at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, jointly organized with the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ICCA RAS). CSTO Secretary General Talatbek Masadykov took part in the conference.
A working meeting between CSTO Secretary General Talatbek Masadykov and Kazem Jalali, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Russian Federation, was held at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Russian Federation.
An international scientific and practical conference entitled “Transformation of the Global Security System and the Shaping of a Eurasian Security Framework” was held at Moscow State Linguistic University (MSLU).
Preliminary results of the “Channel-Caspian Lighthouse” subregional anti-drug operation have been summed up
30.10.2026
On October 30, 2026, as part of the implementation of the 2026 Plan of Key Activities of the Coordinating Council of Heads of Competent Drug Control Authorities of CSTO Member States (CCHCDCA), the preliminary results of the “Channel-Caspian Lighthouse” subregional anti-drug operation were summed up by CSTO CCHCDCA Secretary, Deputy Head of the Main Directorate for Drug Control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, Police Major General Boris Yakovchenko, together with Chairman of the Committee for Combating Drug-Related Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Police Colonel Abay Zhusupov, a representative of the CSTO Secretariat, heads of anti-drug agencies of Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and experts from relevant international organizations who participated in the operation.
The operation was conducted from October 26 to 30 this year across the territories of CSTO member states. Participants included law enforcement agencies, border and customs services, state security agencies, and financial intelligence units of CSTO member states. Observers included officers from the law enforcement agencies of Iran and China, representatives of the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, the Committee of Heads of Law Enforcement Units of the Council of Heads of Customs Services of CIS Member States, the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre (CARICC), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The operation aimed to block drug supply routes into the CSTO area of responsibility, enhance efforts to counter drug trafficking along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, neutralize international transnational drug-trafficking groups, dismantle clandestine drug laboratories, and undermine the economic foundations of the drug trade.
Nearly 9,000 personnel from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan, as well as more than 2,000 personnel from China and Iran, were involved in the operation. Joint measures resulted in the detection of 790 drug-related crimes (445 by CSTO member states), including 81 cases of smuggling, and the exposure of 101 drug-trafficking groups (12 and 61, respectively, by CSTO member states).
In addition, through coordinated efforts by CSTO member states and observer countries, more than 11.4 tonnes of prohibited substances were seized from illicit circulation in the territories of CSTO member states, China and Iran (1.7 tonnes by CSTO member states). These included approximately 11 tonnes of narcotic drugs, 9.4 kg of psychotropic substances, 23 kg of potent substances and 8 tonnes of precursors. Approximately 200,000 drug-containing plants, more than 153,000 tablets containing prohibited substances, 213 firearms and 1,722 rounds of ammunition of various calibers were also seized.
A total of 376 people were detained for drug-related offences, including 135 citizens of countries outside the CSTO. Another 59 wanted individuals were apprehended.
A total of 674 websites disseminating prohibited drug-related information were identified.
According to preliminary data, more than 1 tonne and 260 kg of marijuana, over 232 kg of hashish, 47 kg of alpha-PVP, more than 68 kg of mephedrone, 31 kg of heroin and approximately 3 kg of precursors were seized from illicit circulation in CSTO member states.
To prevent the smuggling of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors, the Main Directorate for Drug Control of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, together with the Main Directorate for Combating Smuggling of the Federal Customs Service of Russia and the competent authorities of Kazakhstan, organized and is conducting a dedicated anti-drug operation in the Chelyabinsk Region targeting individuals and vehicles crossing the Russian-Kazakh border.
A joint delegation of financial intelligence units of the Eurasian Group reported that, during the active phase of the operation, more than 80,000 financial transactions had been identified. A significant proportion involved transfers to individuals’ accounts, including those of drug couriers used to receive and move illicit funds, the accumulation of assets in such accounts followed by cash withdrawals, and cryptocurrency conversions. The total value of these transactions exceeded 1 billion rubles.
Information provided by financial intelligence units to law enforcement agencies contributed to the initiation of six criminal cases involving money laundering.
During the operation, participants exchanged best practices for combating cross-border drug trafficking.
The “Channel-Caspian Lighthouse” operation helped address practical challenges related to stabilizing the drug situation in the CSTO area of responsibility. New joint measures to ensure anti-drug security have been outlined.
Joint efforts to combat illicit drug trafficking within the CSTO framework will continue.
