1.2 tons of opium seized in southern Afghanistan police raid
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Afghanistan's counter-narcotic police have confiscated 1.2 metric tons of opium during a raid in southern Afghanistan, the Interior Ministry said in a statement Monday.
The drugs were seized in Marjah district of Helmand province last Tuesday, the statement said. Three smugglers were also detained.
Helmand is the world's largest producer of opium, the main ingredient in the production of heroin. Afghanistan last year accounted for 93 percent of the world's opium supply. In 2007 it produced 8,200 metric tons of opium.
Some of the proceeds from this multibillion-dollar trade go to fund the Taliban-led insurgency. Profits are believed to also line the pockets of corrupt government officials.
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