700 drug smugglers detained in 2 months: MoI

KABUL (Pajhwok): Hundreds of smugglers, including four on the UN blacklist, have been arrested and 68 tons of drugs recovered in the past two months, an official said Saturday.

Maj. Gen. Abdul Khalil Bakhtyari, secretary counter-narcotics at the Ministry of Interior, told a press conference here that three drug producing factories were destroyed in the Khogyani district of Nangarhar province three days back.

One person was arrested with 11 tons of chemical used in making drugs, he said.

Gen. Bakhtyar said over 600 raids conducted by security personnel in different parts of the country resulted in the arrest of 700 smugglers.

The detainees included four international smugglers whose names existed in the UN black list.

Cases of these alleged smugglers have been transferred to the Criminal Justice Task Force (CJTF) after primary investigation.

The financial value of the drug recovered from smugglers accounted for above $37 million, while $226,000 cash was also recovered from the detainees.

Bakhtyar urged President Ashraf Ghani to allow the counter-narcotics forces to participate in the already launched nation-wide offensive codenamed Nusrat in order to be effectively involved in their mission alongside other security forces.

nh/ma