Afghan police arrest 41 suspected drug smugglers in Nangarhar

Afghan counter-narcotics police have arrested 41 suspected drug smugglers in eastern Nangarhar province over the past two weeks, the provincial police office announced on Saturday, May 16.

According to the statement, cited by foreign media, the suspects were detained during coordinated operations targeting drug smuggling, as well as the sale and purchase of narcotics. The raids were carried out on the outskirts of the provincial capital, Jalalabad, and in neighbouring districts.

During the operations, police seized 17.3 kilograms of methamphetamine, 8,867 stimulant tablets, along with quantities of hashish and other narcotics.

In a separate nationwide crackdown, police have recently detained 885 drug users across multiple provinces, including Balkh, Kunduz, Ghazni, Kandahar, Farah, Nimroz, Herat, Uruzgan, Ghor, Daykundi, and Helmand. These individuals have been transferred to rehabilitation centres, where they are receiving treatment and support.

The Afghan government has imposed a ban on poppy cultivation, as well as on drug production and trafficking, and has pledged to eliminate the narcotics trade while transforming the country—once the world’s leading producer of opium—into a drug-free nation.

By Tamilla Hasanova