16 alleged drug smugglers held in a week

KABUL and an Iranian citizen, on drug smuggling charges during the past one week in different provinces, an official said on Wednesday. 

Ahmad Khalid Muahid, spokesman for the Criminal Justice Task Force (CJTF), said the accused were arrested at the Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Badakhshan, Nimroz, Herat, Nangarhar, Parwan and Helmand provinces.

More than 274kg of heroin, 62kg of opium, 2,682kg of hashish, 11 liters of alcohol, 12 telephone sets and nine different types of vehicles were recovered from the detainees.

The CJTF spokesman said an Afghan woman, 42, and her son were arrested in Jablus Siraj district of central Parwan after a tip off that the two carried drugs in their car.

He said the mother and son had denied the drugs belonged to them. The woman ran for a seat on the Baghlan provincial council in 2014 elections. She worked for international and civil organizations as well.

kh/ma