Police discover 343 kg of illicit drugs in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan

Kabul: Afghan Police have discovered 343 kg of illegal drugs during a series of operations in parts of Tirin Kot, the provincial capital of southern Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province, provincial police spokesman Bilal Uruzgani said Friday.

The drugs included opium poppy, heroin and methamphetamine, said the spokesman.

The official said that the contraband, along with all documents found during the operations, had been handed over to the judiciary.

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In a similar incident on August 3, another drug trafficker was arrested and 75 kg of opium poppy was seized in the northern Afghanistan Takhar province.

The alleged drug smuggler, according to the official, was attempting to sell the opium poppy, but police captured him red-handed and took him into custody for investigation, Xinhua News Agency reported.

In a similar drive against illegal drugs, police arrested three drug smugglers and discovered six kg of hashish in their possession in the eastern Khost province, police said.

Meanwhile, a total of 400 individuals who had been struggling with drug addiction have made a full recovery and rejoined their families in Herat province, western Afghanistan, according to a statement issued last week by the office of the Deputy Minister of Interior for Counter-Narcotics.

The recovered addicts, who were gathered from various districts of the province, underwent a three-month medical treatment and rehabilitation programme before reintegrating into their families, the statement said.

Last month, another 516 former drug users in Herat and neighbouring Nimroz provinces also completed rehabilitation and reunited with their families.

As part of ongoing efforts to combat drug addiction, Afghan police have recently rounded up 125 drug users in the provinces of Farah, Balkh, Ghazni, Sari Pul, and Samangan. These individuals have been transferred to rehabilitation centres for medical care and support.

The Afghan interim government has banned the cultivation of poppy and the trafficking of narcotics as part of a broader initiative to eliminate drug abuse and its impact on society.