Narcotics: 51 officials among convicts last year

Monitoring Desk

KABUL: 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 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 foreign were among the detainees.

Drugs recovered from them included 24 tons of chemicals, 13, 66 kg of shisha, 1, 891kg of heroin, 10 tons of morphine, 25kg of opium, 61kg of hashish, 34, 000 liters of solid chemical materials and 18, 000 liters of alcoholic beverages.

During the past year, 2, 15 vehicles, nine motorbikes, 7, 21 mobiles, $ 255, 000 cash and 45 million afghanis were seized, he added.

He said: “Nuristan was the only province where we did not have a case related to drug smuggling in the past solar year.”

He said the primary court of the Center for Combating Drugs had issued rulings on 605 cases out of the total 671 cases, sentencing the accused to various punishments.

Those convicted included 51 government officials, four foreigners and 27 women.