Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug.18 / Trend, K.Zerbaliyeva /
Azerbaijani border guards have detained 408 perpetrators this year, State Border Service Deputy Chairman Mahammad Abbasguliyev said in an interview this week with the Xalg Gazeti newspaper.
According to Abbasguliyev, 38 people were arrested while crossing the border illegally from Azerbaijan. Another 270 people were detained while trying to illegally enter the country.
He added that 57.6 percent of the perpetrators were Azerbaijani citizens, 11.3 percent were from Iran, 7.8 percent were from Georgia, 6.9 percent were from Bangladesh, 3.9 percent were from Pakistan, 3.2 percent were from Russia, and the rest were from Turkey, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, the UK, Netherlands, Spain, and Syria.
During this period, contraband was seized worth 4.215 million manat.
Some 296 kilograms of narcotics were also arrested.
The Azerbaijani parliament adopted a law forming the border guards on Aug. 18, 1919.
A presidential decree made Aug. 18 a professional holiday for border troops on Aug. 16, 2000. Today, the border guards celebrate their ninety-first anniversary.