Afghan security forces detain 4 in drug-related crimes: gov't

Four persons were detained by Afghan law enforcement agencies for alleged drug-related crimes within a week, authorities said on Wednesday.

"Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) and Afghan security forces have cracked seven drug cases and detained four persons involved in the cases over the last one week," the Counter-Narcotics Criminal Justice Task Force of Afghanistan (CJTF) said in a statement.

The suspects were detained in eastern Parwan and western Herat provinces.

After initial investigation, the CNPA has handed over the cases to the Central Narcotics Tribunal (CNT), a special Afghan court for jurisdiction of major drug cases, the statement noted.

Over the same period, a special CNPA unit destroyed four illegal drug-processing factories in Khogyani district of eastern Nangarhar province, according to the statement.

The CNPA and security forces also found and seized 22 kg of heroin, 3,500 kg morphine, 4,300 kg of opium, 180 liters of liquid chemical substance, 900 kg chemical substance and 4,430 kg of hashish within the past seven days, the statement said, adding the CNPA also seized two vehicles and six mobile phones from the arrested.

Much of the world's opium poppy is cultivated in militancy-hit Afghanistan, particularly in western and southern parts of the country, where government security forces have little presence.

Some 1.9 million to 2.4 million adult drug addicts have been living in Afghanistan, according to the Afghan officials. Endit