78 kg drug discovered, 1 detained in Afghanistan

Kabul, Sep 4 (IANS) Police discovered 78 kg of opium poppy type in the northern Afghanistan Takhar province and took into custody an individual on charge of attempting to smuggle the contraband, provincial police spokesman Nizamudin Omir said on Thursday.

The alleged drug smuggler placed 78 kg of opium poppy in the cavities of a car and wanted to take it from Takhar to an unknown location, but police, during a routine search, recovered the contraband and arrested its owner, the official said.

This is the second discovery of an illegal drug in the northern region of Afghanistan over the past three days. Earlier, police discovered 18 kg of opium poppy and detained two smugglers in the northern Baghlan province on Tuesday, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Earlier in August, Afghan police set on fire 29.8 tonnes of illegal drugs seized during a series of operations in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, according to a statement issued by the office of the Deputy Minister of Interior for Counter-Narcotics.

The confiscated substances included 1,442 kg of methamphetamine (ICE), 588 kg of heroin, 15,714 kg of hashish, 460 kg of opium poppy, and other narcotics, along with materials used in drug production, said the statement issued on August 25.

The contraband was uncovered during counter-narcotics operations in Jalalabad city and various districts of the province, it said.

Without furnishing details on whether the narcotics had been discovered, the statement noted that 2,586 individuals were arrested for smuggling, purchasing, and selling the illicit drugs, and their dossiers were referred to the judiciary for further investigation.

Additionally, police have rounded up 5,786 drug users in the province and shifted them to rehabilitation centres for treatment, it said.

The Afghan interim government, which banned poppy cultivation, drug processing, and trafficking in April 2022, has vowed to fight the menace until the country becomes a drug-free nation.

--IANS

int/akl/sd