PAKTYA - Hundreds of kilograms of drugs and weapons were seized by Afghan security forces during an operation in Paktya province, local officials said on Sunday. Local Roz News Agency reported that the narcotics, including 700 kilograms of hashish were seized in the Machalgho area in Ahmad Aba district, in the outskirts of Gardez city, said officials in the security department.

Later, the head of the Counter-Narcotics Department Dr Hafizullah Ahmadzai told UNAMA that the Afghan security forces recovered the hashish with cooperation of residents during two separate operations conducted by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) officials in Ahmad Abad district and Gardez city. He said the contraband will be burnt.

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Afghanistan produces some 90 per cent of the world’s illicit opiates. UNODC’s Afghan Opium Survey from last year showed a dramatic 133 per cent increase in the farm-gate value of opium compared with 2010, as well as higher prices for the crop and a flourishing drugs trade