KABUL, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Afghan police have thwarted an attempt to smuggle 1,200 sheep out of the southern Kandahar province, the provincial department of information and culture said on Sunday.
The livestock was being moved illegally through Spin Boldak and Registan districts toward a neighboring country, according to the department.
Authorities said this was the second such interception in recent weeks, with security forces having prevented the smuggling of 2,400 sheep from Kandahar two weeks ago.
Animal smuggling remains a persistent challenge in Afghanistan's border regions, where traffickers seek to profit from selling livestock abroad.
Officials have intensified anti-smuggling patrols as part of a wider campaign to curb illegal cross-border trade. ■
