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Bakiyev's Brother Resigns Amid Heroin Scandal

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan -- Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's brother, Janybek Bakiyev, resigned from his senior intelligence post Tuesday after being implicated in planting heroin in the luggage of the main opposition leader, who was later detained in Poland, National Security Service Chairman Busurmankul Tabyldiyev said Tuesday.

Tabyldiyev also said he would step down along with the president's brother, who was his top deputy.

The announcement came after a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, where testimony from the security chief at the Bishkek international airport, Nadyr Mamyrov, suggested Janybek Bakiyev was involved in the incident.

Former parliament speaker and current lawmaker Omurbek Tekebayev was detained at a Warsaw airport last week with what authorities said was 600 grams of heroin in his luggage. Tekebayev was released by a court after it ruled his fingerprints weren't on the doll in his luggage containing the drugs.

At Tuesday's parliamentary hearing, lawmakers were presented with Mamyrov's testimony that accused Janybek Bakiyev of ordering him to "conduct a special operation" involving Tekebayev's bags before he left for Warsaw.

The testimony from Mamyrov, who authorities said had been missing since Monday, said he himself had arranged for Tekebayev's suitcase to be taken to a room with no surveillance cameras.

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