Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior said in a statement on Sunday that the country’s narcotics police had arrested 60 individuals suspected of involvement in the illegal drug trade across 12 provinces and seized 29 kilograms of narcotics.

The ministry said the suspects were detained during a series of operations conducted in and around Nimroz, Balkh, Nangarhar, Kapisa, Laghman, Kunduz, Samangan, Parwan, Badakhshan, Khost, Panjshir and Farah provinces.

Without providing further details about the identities of the seized narcotics or the arrested individuals, the statement said the confiscated substances included several types of illegal drugs.

Nationwide Anti-Drug Campaign

Afghan authorities have intensified a nationwide campaign against the drug trade, targeting drug traffickers, cultivators and production networks as part of broader efforts to curb the country’s illegal narcotics economy.

The Ministry of Interior also announced earlier in the day that Afghan police had dismantled a clandestine drug-processing laboratory in the southern Uruzgan province and seized 48 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine.

According to a ministry statement, acting on intelligence inputs, officials raided a location on the outskirts of the province, where they destroyed the facility and recovered the illegal consignment of narcotics.

23,000 Kg of Drug Production Precursors Seized

During separate operations, anti-narcotics units seized another 23,000 kilograms of raw materials, or precursor materials, used in the production of narcotics in the southern Helmand and eastern Ghazni provinces.

The ministry did not say whether any arrests had been made in connection with these raids. However, it reiterated that police would not tolerate the production, trade or trafficking of illegal narcotics anywhere in the country.

More Than 2.5 Tonnes of Narcotics Destroyed in Takhar

Provincial police office spokesperson Naqibullah Masroor said that on August 27, Afghan police had burned more than 2.5 tonnes of illegal narcotics in the northern Takhar province.

The police official said the destroyed narcotics included 2,000 kilograms of opium, 335 kilograms of hashish and more than 200 kilograms of methamphetamine.

He warned that strict action would be taken against anyone involved in the production or trafficking of narcotics across the province.