OMRI Daily Digest - No. 2, Part I, 3 January 1997

Although the overall crime rate in Moscow dropped in 1996, the number of registered drug-related crimes increased to 4,600, up from 3,000 in 1995, Reuters reported on 2 January, citing figures released by the Moscow branch of the Interior Ministry. Drug-related crimes have increased sharply in Russia in recent years, as the country has become an important transit point for traffickers bringing drugs from Central Asia to Europe. In all, there were about 87,600 registered crimes in Moscow in 1996, compared with 92,600 the previous year. * Laura Belin