9 drug traffickers arrested in Afghanistan: gov't

Afghan law enforcement agencies have detained nine drug traffickers within a week, as the war-hit country struggled to fight the narcotics, authorities said on Wednesday.

"The Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) in collaboration with Afghan security forces have captured nine drug traffickers in Kabul, Nangarhar, Ghor and Nimroz provinces within the last one week," the Counter-Narcotics Criminal Justice Task Force of Afghanistan (CJTF) said in a statement.

They also seized some 29 kg of heroin, over 220 kg of opium, and 810 kg of hashish over the period, according to the statement.

Among the arrestees was one woman, the statement said, adding the CNPA also confiscated four vehicles and six mobile phones from the arrested persons.

Further investigations were underway into the cases, according to the statement.

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. Enditem