AKIPRESS.COM - Tajikistan's consumer rights protection agency, Tajik Standard, has confiscated large amounts of counterfeit and low-quality toys from China over health and safety issues, RFE/RL reports.

Tajik Standard officials told RFE/RL on June 21 that more than 9,000 Chinese-made toys had been confiscated from shops and market places across the Central Asian nation in recent weeks.

According to the agency, parts of the confiscated toys contain hazardous chemicals such as lead and cadmium.

Many of the toys might have been imported to Tajikistan illegally, agency officials said.

Earlier this month, Tajik Standard proposed new regulations aimed at preventing tainted toys from entering the Tajik market.

The majority of toys, school items, and children's clothes in Tajikistan are imported from China.