Kabul, Aug 20 (IANS) Afghan counter-narcotics police have thwarted two major drug trafficking attempts and arrested three suspected smugglers in northern Takhar and southern Zabul provinces, the Ministry of Interior Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the ministry, acting on intelligence tips, security forces launched two separate operations on the outskirts of Taluqan city, the capital of Takhar, and Shajoy district of Zabul, seizing 249 kg of opium and apprehending three traffickers, Xinhua News Agency reported. The detainees are under preliminary investigation and will be handed over to judicial organs for further legal action, the statement added.

In a related development, Afghan counter-narcotics police on Monday arrested 16 suspected drug traffickers and confiscated 872 kg of narcotics in western Herat province, the ministry reported.

In a similar action, Afghan police have uncovered a quantity of weapons and ammunition during two separate operations in eastern Ghazni and southern Uruzgan provinces, the Ministry of Interior Affairs announced on Wednesday.

The contraband included 16 pieces of heavy and light arms, such as PK machine guns, M16 rifles, Kalashnikovs, assault rifles, and rocket launchers, discovered in Tirin Kot city, the capital of Uruzgan, and Jaghouri and Qara Bagh districts of Ghazni, the ministry said.

Additionally, authorities confiscated a substantial amount of ammunition and military equipment, including communication devices, explosives, and a large quantity of cartridges and bullets during the operations, it added.

The operations are part of the Afghan interim government’s ongoing efforts to stabilise security across the war-torn country, having recovered thousands of arms and vast quantities of ammunition over the past four years.

Earlier on August 10, the Ministry of Interior Affairs said that Afghan security forces discovered a large amount of weapons and military equipment in the eastern Paktia province. The items were seized during a series of operations on the outskirts of Samkani and Ahmad Khil districts, the ministry said.

–IANS

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