KABUL, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Afghan counter-narcotics police destroyed seven drug processing labs in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province and arrested 14 drug smugglers on Monday, the Ministry of Interior Affairs said on Tuesday.
Acting on a tip-off, the units of counter-narcotic police on Monday launched operations in different parts of Helmand province, destroying seven drug labs and taking 14 persons into custody, the ministry said in a statement.
The police also uncovered many materials used in heroin manufacturing, it said.
In a similar crackdown, Afghan police destroyed five drug labs in Ghor and Baghlan provinces on Sunday.
Afghan authorities have intensified their crackdown on illicit drugs and those involved in the underground business as security personnel have arrested 16 alleged drug smugglers in Kabul and Herat provinces recently, police said.
In April of last year, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Afghan caretaker administration, issued a decree to ban the cultivation of illegal crops, such as poppy, as well as the processing of these crops into drugs and any related drug trafficking within the country. ■