Ministry of Interior Admits Failure to Detain Drug Traffickers

Drugs are rampant in the country, and more dangerous than terrorism and security threats. Baz Mohammad Ahmadi, deputy minister of interior for counter narcotics, told the media that many operations have been conducted to track down and arrest traffickers but due to lack of capacity and limited opportunities, many are still at large. Mr Ahmadi added the deputy ministry of counter narcotics (under the Ministry of Interior – MoI) has some 10 field staff but in cooperation with other security organs they have seized  61 tonnes of hashish which was ready to be processed in Khak-e- Jabar district, Kabul.  Mr. Ahmadi further said that some 1,600 suspects were arrested over the last seven months. He said that the deputy ministry of counter narcotics  had launched 244 operations in different parts of the country in the past six weeks during which 284 suspects were arrested and 1.349 tonnes of opium, 6.840 tonnes of hashish, and tens of other drug types confiscated. Meanwhile, the deputy ministry reported that seven police officers along with tens of women were arrested on charges of drug trafficking in the country. As winter sets in, hundreds of drug addicts spend their days and nights on the street in freezing temperatures. The deputy minister, Ahmadi, once again reaffirmed that officials will soon try to round up addicts in cooperation with other governmental organisations. Why is there no change in the production, supply, trafficking, access, and availability of drugs, and also the large presence of addicts in Afghanistan’s capital city and provinces? Journalist Farhad Nayeb said a serious lack of commitment on behalf of the government, and the involvement of a powerful drug mafia and high-ranking officials in the system are twin obstacles to the fight against drugs and narcotics in the country. Mr. Nayeb Khail asserted that the condition of addicts in the country is of concern, and the government must take action in order to address this challenge. Earlier ministers of interior, public health, and counter narcotics had tried to gather addicts together and establish clinics for deaddiction, which for a while had positive results but with the passage of time, addicts were once again under bridges, in amusement parks, and even on the roadside close to the Presidential Palace (ARG).