KABUL: Police set on fire more than 14 tonnes of illegal substances, including illicit drugs and the objects used in manufacturing illegal drugs, in central Afghanistan's Daykundi province on Thursday, provincial police spokesman Ghulam Ali Jawed said Friday.
The contraband, which included opium, methamphetamine, heroin, hashish, cannabis, stimulant tablets and chemical substances including acid used in manufacturing illegal drugs, was burned publicly in a ceremony attended by local government officials, the official asserted, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Jawed also said that police had collected the contraband over the past year, and warned that police would take stern action against anyone who produces illegal drugs or smuggles them.
On Tuesday, local authorities said Afghan police seized 25 kilograms of opium and detained eight suspected drug traffickers and smugglers during separate counter-narcotics operations in eastern Afghanistan's Paktika and Logar provinces.
Police arrested six suspected drug traffickers in Paktika province after recovering 25 kg of opium during a series of operations, the provincial police office said in a statement.
In a separate operation in neighbouring Logar province, security forces detained two suspected smugglers and confiscated a large quantity of hashish and narcotic tablets, according to local security officials.
Afghan security forces have continued nationwide counter-narcotics operations as part of ongoing efforts to curb the production, trafficking and smuggling of illegal drugs across the country.
On July 26, Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior Affairs said that Afghan counter-narcotics police have seized 42 kg of methamphetamine during an intelligence-led operation in northern Faryab province.
The drugs, which originated in western Herat province, were discovered concealed inside a vehicle and were being trafficked toward Balkh province when they were intercepted, according to a ministry statement.
One suspect was arrested in connection with the seizure and is currently under investigation, with authorities expected to refer the case to judicial officials.
On July 19, the Ministry of Interior Affairs said that police have rounded up more than 100 drug addicted people in central Afghanistan's Daykundi province and sent them to a rehabilitation centre.
It also noted that 78 drug addicted people have already recovered and reunited with their families in the province.
--IANS
