Afghan police arrest suspected smuggler, seize narcotics in Takhar province (IANS File Photo)
Kabul, Nov 14 (IANS) Afghan police have arrested a suspected drug smuggler and confiscated illicit narcotics during an operation in the northern Takhar province, provincial police spokesman Nizamudin Omir said Friday.
According to the official, the suspect was detained while attempting to transport crystal methamphetamine and other chemicals used in heroin production to Taluqan, the provincial capital, where he allegedly planned to sell the materials, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The suspect has been placed in custody for further investigation, the spokesman added.
Afghanistan has intensified counter-narcotics measures in recent years, launching targeted operations against trafficking networks, clandestine laboratories, and illegal markets.
On November 9, provincial police spokesman Gul Mohammad Qudrat said that Afghan counter-narcotics forces had confiscated 170 kg of opium poppy and apprehended two suspected smugglers in the western Nimroz province.
The seizure took place during a targeted operation in the Zanjer Sharqi area along the Zaranj-Delaram highway, the official said.
The Afghan government has intensified its nationwide campaign against illicit drugs, pledging to eradicate poppy cultivation and dismantle trafficking networks.
On November 4, the provincial police office said that police in eastern Afghanistan's Ghazni province seized 225 kg of opium from a car.
The official said the contraband was hidden in secret compartments of the vehicle and was discovered during a routine search in Muqar district on November 3.
The driver of the car fled the scene, the official confirmed, adding that search operations are underway to locate and bring to justice the owner of the drugs.
In a similar anti-narcotics operation several days ago, police discovered and destroyed a drug processing lab in the eastern Paktia province.
On November 1, a local police officer said that Afghan counter-narcotics forces have eradicated 400 acres of illegal poppy farms in the northern Badakhshan province.
The operations targeted illicit crops on the outskirts of Baharak, Jurm, Shuhada and Darayem districts, according to Ehsanullah Kamgar, provincial police spokesman.
Kamgar said that security forces would not allow cultivation of poppy or any other prohibited crops in the province.
In April 2022, the Afghan government imposed a nationwide ban on the cultivation of illegal crops, including poppy and hashish.
--IANS
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