Kabul
Afghan police have seized a massive cache of illicit drugs and apprehended two suspects in Takhar province, a local official confirmed on Tuesday. Police uncovered a total of 6,299 kg of illicit opium hidden inside a gas tanker in the Khatayan area of Taluqan city, the provincial capital, said Mohammad Akbar Haqqani, the provincial police spokesperson.
The vehicle was reportedly en route from Badakhshan, a neighboring province of Takhar, when authorities intercepted it. Haqqani added that two individuals have been taken into custody in connection with the case. The Afghan interim government has banned poppy cultivation, drug production, and trafficking, pledging to eradicate the drug menace and transform the country into a drug-free nation. Meanwhile, counter-narcotics police in southern Afghanistan’s Kandahar province have seized 15 kg of heroin and arrested 12 individuals linked to drug trafficking, according to provincial police spokesperson Mullah Assadullah Jamshid.
Authorities also confiscated 689 kg of hashish, items used in heroin production, and hundreds of intoxicant tablets during a series of operations over the past two days. Additionally, police destroyed eight acres of poppy farms as part of their anti-drug crackdown. The Afghan interim government remains firm in its stance against illegal drugs, continuing efforts to dismantle the narcotics trade and enforce a nationwide ban on poppy cultivation.