Over 900 former drug addicts rehabilitated in Afghanistan

More than 900 individuals have completed drug rehabilitation programs in Afghanistan’s western provinces and rejoined their families, officials said. The Taliban-led interim government has ramped up anti-narcotic operations, arresting traffickers and seizing large quantities of opium in recent raids.

Kabul: A total of 400 individuals who had been struggling with drug addiction have made a full recovery and rejoined their families in Herat province, western Afghanistan, according to a statement issued late Saturday by the office of the Deputy Minister of Interior for Counter-Narcotics. The recovered addicts, who were gathered from various districts of the province, underwent a three-month medical treatment and rehabilitation program before reintegrating into their families, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the statement.

Earlier this week, another 516 former drug users in Herat and neighbouring Nimroz provinces also completed rehabilitation and reunited with their families. As part of ongoing efforts to combat drug addiction, Afghan police have recently rounded up 125 drug users in the provinces of Farah, Balkh, Ghazni, Sari Pul, and Samangan. These individuals have been transferred to rehabilitation centres for medical care and support.

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The Afghan interim government has banned the cultivation of poppy and the trafficking of narcotics as part of a broader initiative to eliminate drug abuse and its impact on society. Earlier on July 27, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior Affairs said that Afghan counter-narcotics police have discovered 57 kg of opium and arrested a suspected drug smuggler in Badakhshan province. The contraband was discovered during a series of operations conducted on the outskirts of the Argo district of the province, said the statement, adding that one individual was arrested in connection with the case.

On July 24, Afghan security forces 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. The opium was concealed inside a truck and discovered during a counter-narcotic operation in Shahjoy district, the ministry said. Two individuals were arrested in connection with the drug trafficking, and their dossiers were referred to the judiciary for further investigation, the statement said.