Afghan police demolish poppy farms, arrest 5 drug smugglers

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan police have destroyed a total of 432 acres of poppy farms and arrested five people on charge of involvement in drug business over the past week, the Ministry of Interior Affairs said in a statement on Sunday.

In a campaign against illicit drugs, counter-narcotics police have destroyed poppy farms in Kabul, Badakhshan, Bamyan, Badghis, and Kapisa provinces over the past week, the statement said.

Afghan authorities have intensified crackdown on illicit drugs and those involved in the underground business as security personnel arrested five alleged drug smugglers in Kabul and Herat provinces on Saturday, police said.

In similar operations against illicit crops, police destroyed 400 acres of poppy farms in eight provinces several weeks ago.

The Afghan caretaker administration has banned cultivation of illegal crops including poppy, drug processing and trafficking. - XINHUA