In the course of Operation Canal Volga Frontier, over five tons of narcotic drugs, psychotropic and potent substances were seized from illicit trafficking.

In order to ensure collective security, increase the level of practical interaction between the CSTO member states and other countries in the fight against the illegal movement of controlled means and substances according to so-called The Northern and Balkan routes, within the framework of the Regional anti-drug operation Channel, from 9 to 13 October 2017, the competent authorities of the CSTO member states conducted the sub-regional anti-drug operation Channel-Volga Border.  

The purpose of the set of measures was to carry out operational-search and other actions, primarily aimed at solving practical problems of blocking the smuggling channels of Afghan opiates into the territory of states of the Eurasian region, including the waters of the Caspian Sea and the Volga River Basin, preventing the entry into the region of hashish from North Africa, synthetic drugs from Europe, Southeast Asia, including new psychoactive substances from China, coca from Latin America, precursors to Afghanistan and other regions where drug production is located, detecting and stopping the activities of clandestine laboratories for illicit drug production, and activities to undermine the economic foundations of the drug business, including countering the legalization of drug proceeds, identifying and destroying the raw material base of the drug industry , withdrawal from illegal circulation of arms, ammunition and explosives.  

Within the framework of the main phase of the operation, law enforcement agencies of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan carried out comprehensive operational-search measures to identify and suppress the channels of narcotics entering the territories of the states participating in the operation.  

In particular, interdepartmental stationary posts, barriers and mobile task forces were created at transport infrastructure facilities, control over relevant sections of the state border at checkpoints and places vulnerable to uncontrolled movement of people and vehicles across state borders was enhanced, information was shared with financial intelligence units of the states participating in the operation and being part of the EAG, special interactions were created in the national interdepartmental headquarters General groups to identify electronic sites related to the distribution of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.  

The international coordination headquarters for managing the operation was located on the basis of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Saratov region (Saratov). Representatives of law enforcement agencies of Afghanistan, Iran, China, Serbia, financial intelligence units of the EAG member states, experts from Interpol NCB, CARICC, OSCE, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, as well as the Heads of Law Enforcement Committee Committee CIS customs services

As a result of joint work, over five tons of narcotic drugs, psychotropic and potent substances have been seized from illicit trafficking, of which 2 tons 776 kg of opium, 1 ton 365 kg of hashish, more   
 219 kg of heroin, 502 kg of marijuana, more than 6 kg of cocaine and about   
 59 kg of synthetic drugs and psychotropic substances. Thanks to the coordinated actions of the participants in the operation, one ton of 200 kg of precursors did not get into the drug lab.  

645 criminal cases were initiated on the basis of crimes related to drugs, illegal activities of 41 criminal groups operating in the field of drug trafficking were documented, 34 cases of drug smuggling were detected, 111 crimes in the sphere of money laundering were detected, 35 people were found wanted for previously committed drug offenses. 114 pieces of firearms and 2,673 pieces of ammunition were seized from offenders.  

During the operation, the central office of Rosfinmonitoring, on its own initiative, revealed information on suspicious financial transactions involving 47 individuals and 10 legal entities totaling over 107 million rubles, the nature of which indicates their possible connection with drug trafficking. Identified information was sent to the competent authorities of the CSTO member states to organize further verification.  

In total, in the course of the subregional anti-drug operations in 2017, the Channel –Westbreak and the Channel – Volga Frontier over 20.5 tons of various types of narcotic drugs, psychotropic and potent substances were withdrawn from illicit trafficking , including more than 16 tons of opium and a half tons of hashish, as well as 384 firearms and more than 9 thousand pieces of ammunition.