Afghan counter-narcotic units seized and destroyed about $19 million of narcotics and drug production equipment, along with vehicles, weapons and communications equipment in a raid last month in Nad Ali district, Helmand province.

AVA- The raid was part of an ongoing interagency, intergovernmental effort to deny Taliban traffickers and terrorists critical funding for high-profile attacks. The Taliban continues to launch deadly attacks on police and civilians, and cash from narcotics trafficking helps fund their insurgency.

“This seizure and others like it degrade the extremist organization’s funding to commit high-profile attacks on the innocent civilians of Afghanistan,” said U.S. Navy Captain William K. Salvin, Resolute Support spokesperson. “It also highlights the hypocrisy of the Taliban as dealing in these deadly drugs goes against the teachings of Islam.”

The operation yielded 220 kilograms of heroin, 7,000 kilograms of morphine base, 180 liters of Acetic Anhydride, 80 liters of Ammonium Hydroxide, and 275 kilograms of soda ash.

Afghan counter-narcotics experts collected samples of the various compounds, secured weapons and 250 rounds of ammunition, documents and the communications equipment. Once Afghan forces completed the clearing operation, they destroyed the production labs, cashes of morphine, heroin, production chemicals.

Since October 2016, Afghan counter-narcotics officials have conducted more than 18 counter-narcotics missions against Taliban and other narcotics traffickers, destroying and capturing 103,046 kilograms and 57,412 liters of heroin, morphine and drug-producing ingredients – denying Taliban narcotics traffickers more than $179-million of funding.

By Resolute Support Public Affairs