13 tons drugs were burned in the southern province of Helmand. The massive pile of drug were seized in different operations during the past three years. Senior local officials including Mohammad Yasin Khan, the governor for Helmand province, were present on the occasion when the drugs were destroyed.
Afghanistan is known worldwide for its mass production of narcotics. Helmand, one of the largest provinces of Afghanistan, is on the top of the list when it comes to poppy cultivation and drug production.
Mr. Khan acknowledges Helmand remains the biggest drug producer in the entire country. The Taliban insurgents control a large swaths land in the province and there is link between insurgency and drug business in Helmand. Substantiated reports suggest that drug production makes one of the many income sources of the Taliban insurgency—fueling the engine of Taliban’s war machinery.
Mullah Abdul Razeq Mazlumyar, the district governor for Kajaki district, says most the notorious drug smugglers live in the areas which are under the control of the Taliban. “They earn around 1,200 million rupia per month.”
Though the central government has spent millions of dollars to introduce an alternative crop to replace poppy cultivation in the province, little has been done to eradicate poppy.
According to the governor, many drug smugglers have been detained and their cases have been referred to judicial institutions.
The southern province of Helmand shares border with Pakistan and Iran.
