RASC News Agency:Taliban authorities have announced the seizure of three thousand kilograms of raw hash following an operation conducted by their forces in Zabol province. According to the Bakhtar News Agency under the Taliban’s jurisdiction, on Thursday, February 15th, Taliban officials reported that their forces discovered this amount of hash in the Siyora district of Zabol province and detained four individuals in connection with the incident.
The Taliban’s narcotics control management in Herat province had previously announced on February 14th that their forces had detained 2,500 individuals on charges of drug trafficking in various areas of the city and districts of Herat province. These drug seizures and detentions come amid consistent claims by the Taliban of an increase in drug production and trafficking under their control in Afghanistan.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported in October that opium cultivation in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan had seen a “95 percent reduction,” but the production of industrial drugs like methamphetamine had “increased.” Drug production and trafficking remain among the concerns frequently raised by neighboring countries of Afghanistan under Taliban control, but the group has asserted that it is combating it.
However, the Tajikistan Drug Control Agency previously stated that there were no signs of a reduction in drug production in Afghanistan and added that drug production in clandestine hideouts in the country had commenced.
