Afghan security forces get tip, seize $125,000 of drugs

BAGHLAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

01.12.2014

Story by Staff Sgt. JaJuan Broadnax 

NATO Special Operations Component Command-Afghanistan

BALKH PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Afghan National Security Forces seized 286 kilograms of refined opium Jan. 6 at a security checkpoint in Pul-e Khumri district, Baghlan province after receiving a tip-off from a local radio station.

Brig. Gen. Ammarkhel, provincial police chief who started the tip line, immediately notified Afghan local and uniformed police located at checkpoints along Highway 1 that a truck traveling south toward Kabul was smuggling opium inside bags of wheat.

A police officer at the Shamarq checkpoint found the concealed opium inside a bag of wheat while searching a truck matching the description of the suspected vehicle.

The police took the truck driver, his truck and its contents to the Baghlan police headquarters where more than 100 bags of opium was found totaling a net value of about $125,000, according to a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report released in December.

The timeliness and actions of Afghan officials is testimony of ANSF’s ability to provide security and stability for the people of Afghanistan.

According to the UNODC executive director, Afghan police have tripled their effectiveness capturing more than 10 percent of domestic production in recent years. Even though Afghanistan is still far from achieving the seizure rate witnessed in other producing countries, progress has been witnessed.

The capability and effectiveness of the Afghan Local Police has progressed to the point where they now conduct most of their operations independently, improving security and defeating the insurgency with little assistance. Their capability to secure Afghanistan positively impacts every village, district, and province.

The driver of the truck is in custody of Afghan officials.

• Date Taken: 01.12.2014
• Date Posted: 01.12.2014 09:07
• Story ID: 119059
• Location: BAGHLAN PROVINCE, AF