Tolo News: The Washington Post reported that Afghanistan’s “fastest-growing drug industry operates from desert outposts in plain view.” The Islamic Emirate has yet to comment in reaction to the report. The report said that the meth industry is “growing at breakneck speed, stoking fears among Western experts and officials that, under the Taliban, Afghanistan could
8am: Local sources say the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan has boosted opium markets and has encouraged poppy farmers to increase production and turn more lands into poppy cultivation fields. Click here to read more (external link).
The Independent (UK): Apart from the potentially ruinous domestic impact, the collapse of Afghanistan’s heroin trade may also usher in a new era of drug trafficking in Europe and the UK, where most Afghan-sourced heroin is consumed. Click here to read more (external link).
RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi April 14, 2022 Wali Jan, a farmer in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan, is expected to soon harvest poppies from his half-hectare farm. Standing in his blooming poppy field in Garni, an impoverished village on the outskirts of the provincial capital, Tarin Kowt, Jan is upset by the Taliban’s decision this
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi April 4, 2022 One of the Taliban’s first moves upon seizing power in Afghanistan was to take extreme measures to tackle the country’s drug epidemic. To that end, thousands of addicts have been rounded up, beaten, and marched off to prison, where they have been forced to go cold turkey among hardened
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty April 3, 2022 Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government has banned the cultivation of poppies, which are used to produce opium and other drugs. The April 3 order by the de facto authorities said poppy crops would be burned and farmers would face punishments under Shari’a law. The decree was read out to a
Tolo News: The cultivation of poppy for opium production has surged in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar this year compared to previous years, farmers said. “There is nothing else to cultivate. We were growing wheat before. This year—we want to cultivate poppy. Previously they were asking for bribes every day but we don’t
8am: The Tajik government has stated that instability in Afghanistan has boosted the drug market. Drug trafficking has increased by approximately 69 percent since 2021, officials said. Insecurity in Afghanistan exacerbates the problem of drug trafficking, Tajik media reported, citing Tajik authorities. Click here to read more (external link).
Roshan Noorzai VOA News December 11, 2021 Farmers in Afghanistan say that they will continue to grow poppy amid uncertainty over the Taliban’s poppy eradication policy. “We have no choice but to cultivate opium poppy,” said Noor, 52, a farmer living in a remote village in the western Farah province. For safety reasons, he did
8am: The Australian company Cpharm has denied the Taliban’s claim that it has set up a hashish processing plant in Afghanistan. The $450 million investment in the hashish process and the agreement with the Taliban is unrealistic, tweeted Cpharm today Thursday, November 25. Click here to read more (external link).