Afghan police intensified anti-narcotics operations, seizing opium and arresting dozens of suspected drug smugglers across multiple provinces.
Kabul
Police in western Afghanistan’s Herat province have seized 16 kilograms of opium and detained two alleged drug smugglers, as authorities continue an intensified crackdown on narcotics production and trafficking across the country. A provincial police official said on Sunday that the arrests were made during a targeted operation carried out a day earlier.
According to the official, the suspects had concealed the opium inside secret compartments of a vehicle and were attempting to transport the contraband out of Herat province. Acting on intelligence inputs, police intercepted the vehicle and conducted a thorough search, during which the drugs were discovered. The vehicle owners were immediately taken into custody, and further investigations are underway to identify possible links to wider smuggling networks.
The seizure in Herat is part of a broader series of counter-narcotics operations being carried out nationwide. Afghan authorities have reiterated that anti-narcotics police will spare no effort in curbing drug production and trafficking in post-war Afghanistan, which for decades was one of the world’s largest sources of opium.
In a statement issued on December 11, the Ministry of Interior Affairs said Afghan counter-narcotics police had arrested at least 31 suspected drug smugglers and seized 258 kilograms of illicit drugs during coordinated operations in several provinces. The confiscated drugs included 194 kilograms of opium, 35 kilograms of hashish, and 29 kilograms of methamphetamine.
According to the ministry, these operations were conducted in the western province of Herat and the northern provinces of Kunduz and Baghlan, where four individuals were detained. In addition, a separate series of raids in the capital, Kabul, resulted in the arrest of 27 suspects accused of involvement in the sale, purchase, and smuggling of illegal drugs. Earlier, on December 10, provincial police spokesman Ehsanullah Kamgar said Afghan police arrested another individual in northern Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province on charges of drug smuggling.
