By Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan Public Affairs Office
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Five individuals apprehended Dec. 11 in connection with possession of 24 pounds of Black Tar heroin and 945 pounds of poppy seed in the Khakrez District of Kandahar province are scheduled to be prosecuted under the counter-narcotics laws of Afghanistan.
The operation to apprehend the individuals was led by Afghan and U.S. Special Forces in an area of the district known to harbor Taliban.
“Two of the person’s of interest will be prosecuted for possession of the heroin along with weapons, ammunition and an anti-personnel mine,” said the Special Operations Task Force – South team leader in charge of the operation. “The other three are facing charges for cultivating poppy with the intent to produce and sell opium.”
The individuals in question were from a group of 12 suspects apprehended in connection to the discovery of a drug and weapons’ cache found during the combined ANA SF and USSF patrol.
Found during the operation were: two AK47 rifles, one 12-gauge shotgun, one SKS rifle, one .303 Enfield rifle, one rocket-propelled grenade sight, 150 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition, one drum of 7.62 ammunition, 200 9 mm pistol rounds and 1,000 AK47 rounds, 945 pounds of poppy seed and 24 pounds of black-tar heroin.
The 12 men are in the custody of Afghan National Security Forces.
Afghanistan poppy cultivation has decreased over the past several years, as reported by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime.
Poppy cultivation in Afghanistan in 2007 was at 193,000 hectares, but dropped to 157,000 in 2008 and 123,000 in 2009, as reported in the UNODC World Drug Report 2010.
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