PUL-I-KHUMRI (SW): Fazalulhaq Andarabi, the head of Counter Narcotics Department in northern Baghlan province has claimed that raging war has led to phenomenal hike in poppy cultivation.
Addressing a presser, Andarabi added that as much as 110 hectares of land was under poppy cultivation last year but it has now stretched to over 200 hectares.
The head of Counter Narcotics Department in Baghlan said that there are many reasons why poppy cultivation has increased in the province. He added that lawlessness, insurgents’ control over parts of the province, the presence of illegal armed groups and ineffectiveness of the security forces are the main reasons behind the growth of poppy cultivation in the province.
Andarabi asked the government to take serious measures for abolition of poppy in the province.
In the meantime, Nizamuddin Nizam, an official at the Counter Narcotics Office at the Baghlan Police Department said that the Counter Narcotics Police in Bghlan have failed to uproot the poppy farms this year.
In the last 14 months, Nizamuddin stated that Baghlan police have been able to arrest as many as 145 drug traffickers of whom they have confiscated around 1806 kg of narcotics. In a separate operation, he added that Baghlan police have arrested as many as 145 suspects who were carrying around 347 kg of heroines, 448 kg of poppy and 991 kg hashish in 48 vehicles.
Local officials in Baghlan said that for the time being, Andarab, Bano, Dahsalah, Barka, Julga and Tala-wa-Barfak districts remain the hub of poppy cultivation in the province.
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