Large Cache of Narcotics Burned in Public Ceremony in Kunduz
The Kunduz Province Police Department’s Counter-Narcotics Directorate has announced that a significant quantity of various narcotics seized over the past year from different parts of the province was publicly incinerated on Monday.
The destruction ceremony was attended by Mawlawi Mutiullah Saifullah, the police chief of Kunduz, along with several Taliban officials. Hundreds of kilograms of illicit substances were destroyed, including 1,264 kilograms of opium, 110 kilograms of cannabis, 95 kilograms of crystal meth, 42 kilograms of heroin, 25,214 psychotropic pills, 459 liters of alcoholic beverages, and 58 liters of fermented raisins.
The Taliban administration has repeatedly claimed in recent years to be fighting drug trafficking. However, analysts argue that not only has drug production and smuggling not decreased, but it has actually risen in some provinces. Questions persist as to why, despite ongoing claims of enforcement, drug networks remain operational and the core perpetrators are not being effectively prosecuted.
Kunduz, a northeastern province of Afghanistan, has long struggled with narcotics smuggling—especially through its border routes to other countries. Observers say that without transparency in anti-drug efforts and a strong role for independent watchdogs, periodic incineration of seized narcotics will not yield lasting results.
