At least 30,902 people across Afghanistan were arrested for drug trafficking in the last between 2009 and 2019, said Interior Ministry spokesperson Tariq Arian.

“Smugglers continue to support the Taliban financially and militarily,” Arian said as the country marked the beginning of the National Mobilization Week against Drugs.

The Eleventh Report of the United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team (MT) also found that narcotics cultivation, production and trafficking were the main source of the Taliban’s revenue.
Arian added that the Afghan government has made significant achievements to fight the narcotics trade in recent years. However, insecurity in the border provinces where most of the poppy cultivations are, have made it difficult.