The Taliban said Thursday the group has arrested more than 27 000 individuals on drug trafficking charges over the past four year, Afintl.af reports.
Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior, made the announcement during an event marking the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. He claimed that the arrests were made without support from the international community or regional countries.
Speaking to Taliban-run Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), Qani said, “Without the cooperation of the international community, regional, and neighbouring countries, we managed to control narcotics, which we inherited from the past, in a short time and with limited resources.”
He said the Taliban has carried out over 98 000 counter-narcotics operations across the country since taking power.
In April 2022, the Taliban’s supreme leader issued a nationwide ban on the cultivation and production of narcotics.
Following the ban, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported a sharp increase in opium prices. In 2024, the price of opium in Afghanistan reached $750 per kilogram, ten times higher than in 2022.
While UNODC acknowledged a decline in drug production, particularly opium, it noted that high market prices continue to benefit large-scale traffickers.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
June 27, 2025