Afghan police seize hundreds of kilograms of illicit drugs, arrest seven smugglers in Nimroz

Afghan counter-narcotics police seized hundreds of kilograms of illicit drugs, including opium and methamphetamine, and arrested seven suspects in Nimroz province. The bust is part of a wider regional crackdown that dismantled a processing laboratory in Helmand

Kabul: The counter-narcotics police in the fight against illegal drugs have discovered hundreds of kilograms of materials during a series of operations in western Afghanistan’s Nimroz province, the counter-narcotics police commander in the province, Mawlawi Esmatullah Ahmad, said Thursday.

The contraband, which includes 84 kg of opium, 130 kg of methamphetamine, and more than 200 kg of other illegal objects used in manufacturing opium and heroin, has been seized over the past week, the official asserted.

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Police have also arrested seven persons on charges of involvement in smuggling illegal drugs in the province, the official added, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Similarly, police in the drive against illegal drugs set ablaze 730 kg of opium publicly in the northern Badakhshan province on Wednesday.

On July 4, Afghan police confiscated 60 kg of illicit drugs and arrested two suspected drug smugglers in a targeted operation in northern Takhar province, a local police official reported.

The smugglers had concealed 52 kg of opium and 8 kg of hashish in hidden sections within a vehicle while attempting to transport it to an unknown destination. However, police uncovered the drugs during the raid, said Nizamudin Omir, the provincial police spokesman.

In the fight against illicit drugs, Afghan security personnel thwarted a major drug-trafficking operation on July 2, seizing 215 kg of opium in eastern Ghazni province.

On June 30, provincial directorate for Information and Culture said that the counter-narcotics police in the fight against illegal drugs have discovered and destroyed a drug-processing lab in Helmand province south of Afghanistan.

The illegal laboratory was spotted in Baghran district, the statement said, adding that police also seized a huge quantity of illegal objects that were used in making illegal drugs from the site of operations.

No one was arrested and efforts were being made by police to arrest and bring to justice those involved in the black business, the statement emphasised.