KABUL, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Afghan counter-narcotics forces have launched more than 98,000 operations nationwide in the past nearly four years, dismantling over 20,000 drug processing labs, according to the Ministry of Interior on Thursday.
Speaking at a gathering in Kabul to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesman for the ministry, said that over 98,000 operations have been conducted across the country during the cited period, leading to the destruction of over 20,000 clandestine drug processing labs and the arrest of more than 28,000 drug traffickers.
In a major crackdown on illicit crop cultivation, security forces have destroyed over 38,000 hectares of land used for growing poppy and hashish across the country during the period, Qani said.
The Afghan interim government banned poppy cultivation and its processing and drug trafficking in April 2022, and has vowed to eliminate drug menace in the country. ■
