High-ranking drug police officer faces corruption charges

DUSHANBE, February 3, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- Captain Ilhom Fayzov, the head of the anti-drug squad within the police station in Dushanbe’s Firdavsi district, has been arrested by officers from the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption for misuse of powers and bribery.

On January 30 and 31 alone, Captain Fayzov and his subordinates reportedly extorted some 20,000 U.S. dollars from alleged drug pushers, an official source at the anticorruption agency told Asia-Plus Friday afternoon.

The source said they also received application from S. on February 1, who noted that Captain Fayzov extorted 7,000 U.S. dollars from him.  According to S., a certain person phoned him and arranged the meeting with him near the Sultoni Kabir market in order to purchase gold from him.  As it turned out Fayzov’s subordinates posed as buyers.  They took S. to the anti-drug squad’s office, where they took 7 grams of gold from him and demanded 20,000 U.S. dollars in ransom.  S. could collect only 7,000 U.S. dollars and he was released after he gave the money to them.

Criminal proceedings have been instituted against Ilhom Fayzov under the provisions of three articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code : Article 319 (4) – misuse of powers; Article 316 (3) – abuse of office; and Article 314 (1) – bribery.  An investigation is under way.