KABUL, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Afghan police have thwarted attempts to smuggle a total of 5,198 sheep out of the southern Kandahar province in the past three months, the official media outlet Bakhtar News Agency reported on Monday.
Dozens of individuals were arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle the livestock through the Spin Boldak border crossing, Bakhtar quoted Mohammad Hanif Haqmal, spokesman for the provincial department of agriculture, irrigation and livestock, as saying.
Animal smuggling remains a frequent issue along Afghanistan's borders, driven by profit motives, but security forces continue to intercept such operations as part of efforts to combat illegal cross-border trade. ■
