KABUL, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Afghan counter-narcotics police have arrested 44 individuals alleged of involvement in illicit drug activities across nine of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, the Ministry of Interior Affairs said on Monday.
According to the ministry, the suspects were arrested on charges of drug smuggling, sale, and purchase during a series of coordinated operations conducted in the provinces of Kunduz, Balkh, Ghazni, Paktia, Khost, Faryab, Wardak, Kapisa, and Nimroz.
During the operations, law enforcement officers also discovered a quantity of illicit drugs, including 33 kg of hashish, along with heroin and other narcotics.
In a separate announcement, the ministry stated that police detained 18 additional suspects for criminal activities, including theft and disrupting public order, in the provinces of Badakhshan, Ghazni, Sar-i-Pul, Samangan, and Herat.
The Afghan government has ramped up its anti-narcotics crackdown, targeting illicit drugs and those involved in the business, with a firm commitment to eradicating poppy cultivation across the country. ■