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180 tonnes of drugs seized last year: official

180 tonnes of drugs seized last year: official

author avatar
11 Apr 2011 - 18:24
180 tonnes of drugs seized last year: official
author avatar
11 Apr 2011 - 18:24

KABUL): More than 180 tonnes of different kinds of narcotics and chemicals have been recovered and 65 drug processing factories destroyed in the country during last Afghan year, an official said on Monday.

As many as 1,459 suspects were arrested in connection with the drugs, including eight tonnes of heroin, 71 tonnes of opium, 81 tonnes of hashish, 20 tonnes of chemicals used in processing drugs at factories and 1.5 tonne of morphine, deputy interior minister for counter-narcotics, Brig. Gen. Baaz Mohammad Ahmadi, said.

There has been 35 percent increase in counternarcotics operations last year, with 485 cases of suspects under investigation by the judicial department of the ministry, he said.

Last year, counternarcotics police seized 321vehicles, 438 weapons and 153 mobile phone sets during various operations, he said, adding 18 police were killed during their operations.

A huge portion of the seized drugs belonged to southwestern Nimroz province, where most of counternarcotics operations were carried out, he added.

Since the start of the new Afghan year, March 21, about 130 counternarcotics operations have been conducted in various parts of the country. As a result, one tonne of heroin, more than 5 tonnes of opium, 2 tonnes of hashish and a large amount of chemicals were recovered, Ahamdi said.

Police arrested 93 suspects and seven police sustained injuries since the year began.

More than 400 kilograms of narcotics and 100 kg of chemicals were recovered from a drug processing factory in Achin district of Nangarhar in a recent operation, he said.

About 98 percent of the drugs are produced in southwestern provinces, with 95 percent of the drugs reaching outside countries, the interior ministry official said, adding most of income generated from the drug trade went to insurgents.

A United Nations report says Afghanistan‘s drugs.

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