Russia develops satellite imagery device to detect drug fields

Moscow, July 16 (UNI) Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) has developed a satellite imagery device to detect fields sown with hemp and opium poppies, in Russia's Far East.

The spokesperson for Russia's Federal Drug Control Service Olga Shabalina told RIA Novosti news agency today that spectral analysis of vegetation in Russia's Far East will soon be able to locate drug fields.

''A system has been developed and is being introduced by Roskosmos. The head of Roskosmos, Alexander Strykov, is currently testing the space monitoring system in the Amur Region," the spokesperson said.

The imaging system is part of the federal anti-narcotics programme for 2005-2009, and has been in the works for two years.

It involves computer analysis of satellite imagery to detect cannabis and opium fields, and will initially monitor three regions, including the Far Eastern, Siberian and Southern federal districts of Russia.

The Far East and parts of Yakutia in the country are known as major producers of ''Manchurian'' cannabis, with some fields covering hundreds of acres. Many local villagers grow the weed to supplement their incomes.

Despite stiff penalties for its cultivation, opinion polls of local residents reveal that only one in six believes growing drugs is a crime.

This year, the Operation Poppy, which begins annually in May, uncovered more than 200 wild and cultivated patches of cannabis, and resulted in more than 1,000 criminal cases for illegal narcotics production.

UNI