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Gulf becomes route for Afghanistan opium
 DOHA - German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble warned on Tuesday that Gulf countries have become a route for drug trafficking from Afghanistan, which he said produces some 90 percent of world opium. This problem (of opium production in Afghanistan) affects regional security, making Gulf countries first to suffer the consequences. Gulf countries have become a passage for drug trafficking, he said at a conference on border security in Afghanistan held in Doha. Statistics show also that the people of these countries are being harmed by the spread of drugs coming from Afghanistan, he said, adding that 90 percent of opium world produce comes from Afghanistan.The Afghan government and the international donors on which it depends are determined to do away with the countrys opium crop, which is the main source of income for nearly nine percent of the population. One source of funding for the ousted Taleban militia has been protection money paid by opium poppy farmers, according to experts. In May, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) said that drugs produced in Afghanistan were being smuggled through war-torn Iraq and Jordan en route to final destinations in eastern and Western Europe. Posted by: Steve White 2006-03-01 |
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