Ex-security service man jailed for drugs

A former member of the Uzbek security service has been jailed for 12 years for possessing and selling drugs.

A security service spokeswoman said it was the first time someone from the service had been convicted on such charges.

According to the jailed officer's lawyer, he was among 10 people tried by a military court in the capital, Tashkent.

Central Asia lies on a major drug trafficking route from Afghanistan, and hardly a week goes by without news of some large haul or couriers detained.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service