Drug processing lab unearthed, five arrested in Afghanistan's Badakhshan

Kabul, Sep 16 (IANS) In the fight against illicit drugs, police unearthed a drug processing lab in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province and detained five individuals on Tuesday, a spokesman for the provincial police office, Ehsanullah Kamgar, said.

Acting on a tip-off, the counter-narcotics police raided a place in Darayem district Monday morning and discovered the drug processing lab along with 170 kg of processed opium poppy, which was ready to turn into heroin, the official said, adding that five persons were arrested from the site, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The Afghan government has intensified its nationwide campaign against narcotics, targeting traffickers, cultivators, and production networks, with a commitment to eradicate poppy farming and heroin manufacturing.

On September 8, a provincial police spokesman said that Afghan police have dismantled six drug processing labs and seized more than 10,000 kg of materials used in heroin production in the southern province of Helmand.

Counter-narcotics police units conducted separate operations on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital, and in various districts, destroying the labs and confiscating the illicit substances, said Mullah Ezatullah Haqqani, spokesman for the provincial police.

In a concerted effort against illicit drugs, police discovered 292 kg of opium, heroin, and hashish, arresting 12 suspected smugglers in the provinces of Panjshir, Baghlan, Kunduz, and Balkh, the country's Ministry of Interior Affairs stated on September 8.

Meanwhile, the police discovered 145 kg of illegal drugs in the northern region of Afghanistan and took into custody 10 alleged drug smugglers, read a statement of the Ministry for Interior Affairs.

In the drive against illicit drugs, counter-narcotics police arrested three persons and discovered 106 kg of opium poppy and 32 kg of hashish in Kunduz province on Sunday. Another man with 4 kg of hashish was arrested in the neighbouring Baghlan and six persons with 3 kg of illegal drugs were detained in Balkh province, the statement of the ministry posted on X said.

The police won't allow anyone to produce or smuggle illegal drugs in the country, the statement further said.

--IANS

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