Kabul, Aug 24 — Police personnel discovered 48 kg of illegal opium-type drugs from a car in eastern Afghanistan's Wardak province and took its smuggler into custody, according to a statement issued by the provincial police office on Monday.
The alleged drug smuggler was attempting to traffic the contraband from the northern Balkh province to western Farah, and then onward to an unknown destination. However, police, acting on a tip-off, intercepted the vehicle and recovered the narcotics.
The suspect is in police custody and will be handed over to the judiciary after the completion of a preliminary investigation, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Previously, in similar operations on Saturday, police reported the discovery of 190 kg of opium and the arrest of a drug smuggler in the northern Takhar province.
On August 8, Afghan police seized a quantity of narcotics and arrested six people in northern Takhar province, provincial police spokesman Nizamuddin Omir said.
The suspects were arrested while allegedly transporting the narcotics, which had been concealed in vehicles, Omir said.
The case was referred to relevant authorities, and preliminary investigations into the suspects are underway, he added.
On July 16, Afghan police seized 241 kilograms of illicit drugs and arrested nine suspects during two recent separate operations in northeastern Badakhshan province, the official media Bakhtar News Agency said.
According to the report, special police forces discovered the narcotics during raids conducted in the Pul-e Begum and Tashkan areas, where the drugs were recovered from a vehicle and a residential house.
The statement said nine individuals were taken into custody during the operations. The suspects are under investigation, while authorities reaffirmed their commitment to combating drug trafficking and related criminal activities across the country.
The counter-narcotics police commander in Nimroz, Mawlawi Esmatullah Ahmad, said that the counter-narcotics police, in the fight against illegal drugs, discovered hundreds of kilograms of materials during a series of operations in western Afghanistan's Nimroz province.
The contraband, which includes 84 kg of opium, 130 kg of methamphetamine, and more than 200 kg of other illegal objects used in manufacturing opium and heroin, were seized, the official asserted.
Police also arrested seven persons on charges of involvement in smuggling illegal drugs in the province, the official added.