50kg of heroin hidden in tyres seized in Kunduz

KABUL): Afghan counternarcotic agents smashed a cross-border drug smuggling network, with the seizure of 50 kilograms of heroin concealed in tyres and detained three traffickers in northern Kunduz province, an official said on Tuesday.

Syed Sarwar Hussaini, the provincial police spokesman, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the drugs were cleverly placed inside spare tyres of two vehicles near the gate of Kunduz City.

Hailing from southern Nangarhar, the trio were planning to smuggle the heroin to neighbouring Tajikistan, he said.

Last January, Mohammad Ibrahim Azhar, deputy minister of counternarcotics said nearly 75 tonnes of drugs from northern provinces were smuggled to Central Asian countries, especially to Tajikistan, annually.

In 2011, a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report said Afghanistan’s opium, compared to 82 per cent in 2010.

mrh/vp/mud

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