Kabul, July 24 (IANS) Afghan security forces have seized 1,000 kg of illicit drugs and arrested two alleged drug smugglers in southern Afghanistan’s Zabul province, the Ministry of Interior Affairs said in a statement on Thursday.
The opium was concealed inside a truck and discovered during a counter-narcotic operation in Shahjoy district, the ministry said, Xinhua news agency reported.
Two individuals were arrested in connection with the drug trafficking, and their dossiers were referred to the judiciary for further investigation, the statement said.
The Afghan national army thwarted attempts to smuggle drugs and detained three alleged drug smugglers in the southern Afghanistan Helmand province, said an army spokesman in the region, Jawed Agha, on Tuesday.
The contraband, which included 730 kg of opium poppy and was placed in the cavities of a vehicle, was identified and confiscated by the army personnel, the official added.
They have also discovered two assault rifles and two satellite phones from the possession of the arrested and handed them to concerned bodies for further investigation, the official said.
In a similar incident, police set on fire more than half a tonne of illegal drugs in the southern Afghanistan Kandahar province on Sunday.
The contraband, which included 130 kg of opium poppy, 480 kg of methamphetamine and 660 pieces of stimulant tablets, had been collected over the past two months and was burned publicly, the official added.
Police won’t allow anyone to produce, process or traffic illegal drugs, the official further said.
In a similar operation, the Afghan security forces dismantled two drug processing labs and discovered more than 580 kg of illicit drugs in western Afghanistan’s Farah province on Sunday, the office of the Deputy Minister of Interior for Counter-Narcotics said in a statement.
According to the statement, counter-narcotic police launched separate operations on the outskirts of the Bakwa district, where they destroyed two drug labs and confiscated 589 kg of illicit substances. Nine suspected drug smugglers were detained.
The Afghan interim government has stepped up its crackdown on illicit drugs and those involved in the business.
–IANS
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