KABUL, May 16 — Afghan counter-narcotics police have arrested 41 suspected drug smugglers in eastern Nangarhar province over the past two weeks, the provincial police office announced on Saturday.
The suspects were detained during coordinated operations targeting drug smuggling, sale and purchase on the outskirts of the provincial capital Jalalabad and in adjoining districts, the office said in a statement.
Police seized 17.3 kg of methamphetamine, 8,867 stimulant tablets, as well as quantities of hashish and other narcotics during the raids.
In a separate nationwide crackdown, police have recently rounded up 885 drug users in the provinces of Balkh, Kunduz, Ghazni, Kandahar, Farah, Nimroz, Herat, Uruzgan, Ghor, Daykundi and Helmand.
These individuals have been transferred to rehabilitation centers for treatment and support. The Afghan government has banned poppy cultivation, drug production and trafficking, vowing to eradicate the narcotics trade and transform the country, once the world’s leading producer of opium, into a drug-free nation. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
