42 drug-related cases exposed in Afghanistan within month

A total of 42 drug-related ceases were exposed in Afghanistan during the 10th month of current Afghan calendar, as the war-hit country struggled to fight the narcotics, authorities said on Monday.

"The Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) and other law enforcement agencies have cracked 42 drug cases and made 44 arrests during the month of Jaddi (Dec. 21 to Jan. 19) elsewhere in the country," Counter-Narcotics Criminal Justice Task Force of Afghanistan (CJTF) said in a statement.

The CNPA and Afghan security forces also found and confiscated narcotics during the period, according to the statement.

Among the drugs and materials, 201 kg heroine, 3,510 kg of morphine, over 6,260 kg of opium, 180 liters liquid chemical substance, 1,094 kg solid chemical substance, and more than 197,000 kg of hashish, were found, the statement said.

After an 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.

Meanwhile, 48 cases of illegal drug production and distribution were also exposed and 51 persons were captured during the ninth month of the current Afghan calendar, according to the statement.

Some 4,800 tons of opium has been produced in Afghan provinces where government security forces had little presence in 2016, according to Afghan officials. Enditem