KABUL, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Afghan security forces have dismantled a network of clandestine drug-processing labs and incinerated 3,400 kg of illicit narcotics during coordinated operations in western Ghor and southern Uruzgan provinces, the Ministry of Interior Affairs announced Tuesday.
In a statement, the ministry said that specialized counter-narcotics police units carried out separate raids on the outskirts of provincial capitals and remote districts in the two provinces. The operations not only destroyed the clandestine facilities but also led to the discovery and subsequent burning of the substantial drug haul.
While the statement did not specify the number of labs dismantled or whether any suspects were apprehended, it confirmed that the seized substances were intended for heroin production.
In a parallel crackdown targeting the upstream narcotics trade, authorities last week eradicated around 1,000 acres of poppy fields in northern Samangan province, part of an ongoing nationwide campaign to eliminate opium cultivation.
The Afghan government has intensified its offensive against both illicit drug production and trafficking networks, vowing to sustain the campaign until the country is completely purged of poppy farming and the raw materials used in heroin manufacturing. ■
