Poppy cultivation up By 11 %

The Ministry of Counter Narcotics on Monday raised concerns over the increase in poppy cultivation in the country, saying this year, the trend has increased by 11 percent against last year.

Addressing a press conference in Kabul, deputy minister of counter narcotics Jawed Ahmad Qayeem said insurgents are taking advantage of opium production and smuggling.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in its latest Afghanistan Opium Survey that factors such as political instability, a rise in security threats and unemployment appear to be forcing farmers to resort to cultivating poppies.

According to the Ministry of Counter Narcotics, the UN survey states that last year drugs from Afghanistan smuggled and sold abroad totaled an estimated $7.5 billion USD.

“Forty six percent of farmers in 2017 said they cultivated continuously, meaning that they also cultivated poppies over the past two or three years. Fifty four percent said they have just started to cultivate or did not cultivate in recent years while 57 percent of the annual income of those cultivating continuously comes from drugs,” said Qayeem.

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MoCN admits failure in preventing poppy cultivation

The Ministry of Counter-Narcotics (MoCN) admits its failure to eradicate poppy farms in the country, saying the ministry does not have the needed capability to prevent poppy cultivation.

“The eradication of poppy farms is impossible due to their high numbers. Terrorism and insecurity are also the main factors,” said Mahmoud Danishyar, the spokesman of MoCN.

According to MoCN statistics, poppy has been cultivated in nearly 328.000 hectares of lands in the country during the last year.

However, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said poppy cultivation has decreased compared to the previous year.

“The 2700 operations conducted by the MoCN in all across the country shows a decrease in poppy cultivation,” said Najib Danish, spokesman of MoI.

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Senators: Police being involved in drug trafficking and selling

The Senate house or Meshrano Jirga says Afghan police are being involved in drug trafficking and selling and that it challenges the efforts to reduce the increasing numbers of drug addicts in the war-torn country.

Head of senate’s defense committee Mohammad Hashim Alokozai said that in many provinces some police commanders are involved in extortion and drug cultivation & trafficking.

Questioning the responsibilities of police forces, he said drugs are being sold publically and police commanders taking money from the drug traffickers.

“No serious actions have been taken against drug traffickers; Police are directly involved in selling drugs and the officials in the Police districts are not taking any action in this regard,” said Senator Nesar Ahmad Haris, chairman of public welfare and environment commission.

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Narcotics become a silent tsunami in Afghanistan

Narcotic Drug is said to be the third major challenge in front of the Afghan government after the on-going war and administrative corruption.

According to figures, about three million people including women and children are addicted to drugs in Afghanistan.

Officials in a drug treatment center on Kabul-Jalalabad road where around 1,000 homeless drug addicts are under treatment express concern on the rise of drug users in the country.

“968 patients are under treatment in our center,” Zalmay Noori, head of the center told Ariana News. “Poverty, war, illiteracy, unemployment, and lack of control on drug production and distribution are the main factors behind this tragedy.”

“The government has no attention to the youths; therefore, most of the youths who go through the centers fall back into drug use,” Parviz, one of the addicts at the center who have also memorized and recites the holy Qur’an told.

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Narcotics: 51 officials among convicts last year

More than 740 people have been detained in connection with trafficking narcotics in capital Kabul and provinces the last solar year that ended on March 21, the Criminal Justice Task Force (CJTF) has said.

CJTF spokesman Ahmad Khalid Mowahid told a press conference in Kabul yesterday that the detainees included foreigners, women and government officials.

Mowahid said the detainees captured by counternarcotics police had been involved in 568 drugs related cases.

He said 59 government officials, 28 women, eight Iranians and one Pakistani were among the detainees.

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MoI arrests nearly 3000 suspected drug dealers

Afghan Ministry of Interior (MoI) says nearly 3000 drug dealers have been arrested during the current solar year.

The deputy interior minister of counter-narcotics affairs, Abdul Khalil Bakhtyar has declared that a number of Taliban commanders are also among the detainees.

According to MoI, during the current solar year;

2468 operations were conducted which 860 of them were carried out in Kabul.

2848 drug dealers have been arrested that 69 of them are security personnel.

27 drug factories and 12 drug caches have been destroyed.

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Sharp rise in counter-narcotic cases compared to past year in Afghanistan

The Counter-Narcotics and Intoxicants Justice and Judicial Center has reported an increase in registered cases compared to the last year in the country.

The spokesman of Special Prosecution of Counter Narcotics and Intoxicants, Ahmad Khalid Mowahed has declared that in connection to 57 incidents 59 people arrested during the current month.

“At least two women and an Iranian citizen are also among the detainees and 16 cases are belong to the Hamed Karzai airport,” Muwahed said.

Muwahed noted that the penal code has been enforced in counter narcotics law and a number of the amendment has been added in the fifth and ninth chapters of this law.

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Drug labs still finance Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan

More than hundreds of drug production facilities are still operating in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan.

Hayatullah Hayat, provincial governor of Helmand province has told Ariana News that at least 40 drug labs were destroyed during the last two months; however, he said narcotic drugs are still the main source of financing violence and terror.

“We have destroyed dozens of drug labs and we have killed drug traffickers and more than a hundred Taliban militants who were involved in this business. In addition, we have seized and destroyed more than three tons of narcotics,” Mr. Hayat said.

Afghan defense ministry says targeting the revenue streams of terrorists is very effective in order to disable the insurgents.

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