KABUL, Afghanistan - About 1,500 kilograms of dried opium was found by an Afghan and coalition security patrol in Helmand province Sept. 22.
A civilian vehicle became stuck in the sand when the driver attempted to evade the patrol at a vehicle checkpoint. The two men inside the vehicle fled on foot and were not found. When the patrol searched the vehicle they found the narcotics and destroyed them in place.
"By finding and destroying these narcotics we have denied the insurgents money that would otherwise fund their attacks and weapons that would be used against innocent Afghans and security forces," said U.S. Air Force Col. James Dawkins, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command Combined Joint Operations Center director.