Zaranj, Feb 21 (IANS) Afghan police discovered more than 50 kg of illicit drugs and apprehended two alleged drug smugglers in western Afghanistan Nimroz province, the provincial director for counter-narcotics department Mawlawi Faiz Mohammad Faizani said Friday.
According to the official, police discovered more than 50 kg of illicit drugs in the Zaranj-Delaram highway, and arrested two people on the charge of involvement in the drug business, Xinhua news agency reported.
Police will not allow anyone to produce or smuggle hashish, poppy, or the objects used in manufacturing heroin in the province, the official said.
The Afghan interim government, which has banned poppy cultivation, processing of drugs, and drug trafficking, has vowed to fight the menace until the once-poppy growing country becomes drug-free.
Earlier in January 2025, authorities of the counter-narcotics department destroyed 10.5 tonnes of illegal drugs in central Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province, the provincial police office said in a statement.
The contraband including opium poppy, hashish, objects used in manufacturing heroin and other toxic items was burned publicly, the statement said.
Police in Bamiyan banned the cultivation of poppy, drug processing, and drug trafficking in the province.
On January 14, police uncovered 43 kg of illicit drugs in eastern Afghanistan’s Khost province and detained an individual on charges of involvement in drug trafficking, according to provincial police spokesman Tahir Ehrar.
The contraband, which included 43 kg of hashish and a piece of an AK-47, was discovered outside the provincial capital, Khost city. The official added that one drug smuggler had been arrested.
The police made it clear that they would not allow anyone to produce or smuggle hashish, poppy, or the objects used in manufacturing heroin in the province, Ehrar said.
The counter-narcotics police had also uncovered 64 kg of illicit drugs, including methamphetamine, and arrested 17 suspected drug smugglers in two provinces of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Interior had revealed earlier this month.
–IANS
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