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India: Majority of drugs coming from Afghanistan, UN says
(AKI/Asian Age) - More than 55 percent of the heroin which is being smuggled into India is coming from Afghanistan through Pakistan, claims a report by the United Nations.The UN said the Taliban is earning millions of dollars annually from a surcharge it levies on illegal trade in that country. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that "the Taliban have an annual revenue of between $200-300 million dollars from a surcharge levied on illicit drug trade". This was revealed by International Narcotics Control Board in its report for the year 2008. The report was released on Thursday. The report said security is "weak" in southern provinces of Afghanistan and an "overwhelming" majority of villages are involved in illegal opium poppy cultivation. It, however, said the illegal opium cultivation has dropped by 19 percent from its record level of 193,000 hectares in 2007 to 157,000 hectares last year. Despite this, the country accounts for 90 percent of illegal opium in the world. The eradication efforts in Afghanistan are being "hampered" by a lack of security, the report said. Posted by: Fred 2009-02-21 |
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