KABUL, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Police have foiled an attempt to traffic 173 people out of the country and arrested nine suspected traffickers in the western Afghan province of Nimroz on Wednesday, provincial police spokesman Mawlawi Gul Mohammad Qudrat said Thursday.
The suspected traffickers were attempting to take the victims out of the country illegally, the official said, adding that police had also discovered and destroyed two underground hideouts used by the traffickers.
Police also seized four vehicles and five motorbikes belonging to the suspected traffickers during the operations, the official said.
Ten days earlier, police reported the arrest of 38 human traffickers and the rescue of 235 people in the same province.
Many Afghans attempt to leave their war-torn country through dangerous routes in search of jobs to escape poverty and unemployment at home. ■
