KABUL, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan arrested over 1,200 people accused of smuggling or keeping drugs during last year, authorities said on Monday.
"Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) and detective security organizations arrested 1,287 suspects, including 37 women and two foreign citizens, linked to 1,081 cases of transportation or keeping of narcotics nationwide during 2019," Counter-Narcotics Criminal Justice Task Force of Afghanistan (CJTF) said in a statement.
After initial investigations, the CNPA has handed over the cases to the Central Narcotics Tribunal or CNT, a special Afghan court for jurisdiction of major drug cases, the statement said.
Huge amounts of drugs and banned-chemical materials, including 2,449 kg heroin, 1,421 kg morphine and 30,737 kg opium, 106,780 kg of hashish and 1,165 kg of Methamphetamine were also seized over the period, the statement noted.
In addition, a primary and an appellant court of the CNT have sentenced 2,676 defendants to different ranges of imprisonment and 63 persons were cleared by the courts due to lack of evidence during the year, the statement said.
In 2018, some 6,400 tons of opium were produced in Afghanistan, a country notorious for growing opium-producing poppies for the illicit drug trade.
