Armed Afghan policeman destroys an opium poppy field in Nurgal, Kunar Province Photo: AP
Meth trafficking in and around Afghanistan In recent years years, the rate has risen sharply, even as the Taliban have curbed heroin trafficking since taking power, a United Nations report says.
“The rise in methamphetamine trafficking in Afghanistan and the region suggests a significant shift in the illicit market. drugs and requires our immediate attention,” said Ghada Wali, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
< p>The Taliban, which came to power in August 2021, announced in April next year a ban on drug production in Afghanistan, the world's main opium producer. Taliban officials say their security forces are targeting Afghan poppy farmers and destroying crops.
While the heroin trade has slowed, the UNODC said in a statement, the methamphetamine trade has «intensified since the ban.»
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Afghans gather under a bridge to consume drugs in Kabul Photo: AP
Seizures of methamphetamine in and around Afghanistan have increased 12-fold in a year five years to 2021. Between 2019 and 2022, neighboring countries such as Iran and Pakistan also reported an increase in seizures. The report said countries as far away as France and Australia reported seizures of methamphetamine that likely originated in Afghanistan.
UNODC said most of the methamphetamine from Afghanistan was made from precursor ingredients, such as those found in some cold and flu medicines.
Afghanistan is home to the ephedra plant, which can be used to make methamphetamine, but UNODC said the amount needed to produce drug, and the risk of unreliable harvests mean that production in Afghanistan is not reliant on the plant alone.
“Cold drugs and industrial-grade chemicals are more effective and cost-effective for methamphetamine production and therefore pose a much greater threat.” , — said the UNODC.
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