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Afghan security forces seize large quantities of narcotics
Kandahar, June 18: During a routine search on a major highway, Afghan security forces seized 400 kgs of opium and large quantities of heroin and hashish, a senior government official said today.
Kandahar, June 18: During a routine search on a major highway, Afghan security forces seized 400 kgs of opium and large quantities of heroin and hashish, a senior government official said today.
The discovery in an oil truck was made yesterday at Norak checkpoint in the southern Zabul province on the road linking the capital Kabul with Kandahar and Herat near the Iranian border, said Hamidullah Khan Tokhi, the governor of Zabul.
The drug find - the biggest ever in Zabul according to the governor - also included 200 kgs of heroin and 420 kgs of hashish. The truck driver was arrested.
This was the second major drug seizure in the Zabul province in the last three days.
In an operation on Sunday, the province's security forces seized 400 kgs of hashish and 50 kgs of opium. The drugs were discovered in a truck and its driver was arrested.
Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium, the raw material from which heroin is made. Most of the heroin produced from opium grown in Afghanistan finds its way onto the streets of European cities.
Afghanistan's US-backed President Hamid Karzai has banned poppy cultivation, the plant from which opium is produced. But farmers have largely ignored the ban.
The United Nations has estimated Afghanistan's harvest will reach about 4,000 tons this year.
The ousted Taliban regime had successfully banned poppy cultivation, but farmers returned to the lucrative crop after the hardline Taliban were ousted in December 2001 by a US-led coalition force.
Bureau Report
The drug find - the biggest ever in Zabul according to the governor - also included 200 kgs of heroin and 420 kgs of hashish. The truck driver was arrested.
This was the second major drug seizure in the Zabul province in the last three days.
In an operation on Sunday, the province's security forces seized 400 kgs of hashish and 50 kgs of opium. The drugs were discovered in a truck and its driver was arrested.
Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium, the raw material from which heroin is made. Most of the heroin produced from opium grown in Afghanistan finds its way onto the streets of European cities.
Afghanistan's US-backed President Hamid Karzai has banned poppy cultivation, the plant from which opium is produced. But farmers have largely ignored the ban.
The United Nations has estimated Afghanistan's harvest will reach about 4,000 tons this year.
The ousted Taliban regime had successfully banned poppy cultivation, but farmers returned to the lucrative crop after the hardline Taliban were ousted in December 2001 by a US-led coalition force.
Bureau Report