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Drugs and weapons seized in Afghanistan

Other News Materials 22 July 2011 10:22 (UTC +04:00)
Australian Defense Force on Friday confirmed that Afghan troops, supported by Australian troops, have seized a large cache of drugs and weapons in Afghanistan.
Drugs and weapons seized in Afghanistan

Australian Defense Force on Friday confirmed that Afghan troops, supported by Australian troops, have seized a large cache of drugs and weapons in Afghanistan, Xinhua reported.

On 10 July 2011, the Afghan National Interdiction Unit (NIU), supported by members of Australia's Special Operations Task Group (SOTG), seized a tonne of opium, several kilograms of heroin and over two tonnes of chemicals used to make illegal drugs in Daykundi province in central Afghanistan.

More than 20 weapons were also found, including pistols, rifles, machine guns and ammunition.

According to the Commanding Officer (CO) of the SOTG, who cannot be named for security reasons, insurgents use illegal drugs to finance their illegal activities in Afghanistan.

He said that by supporting the NIU to find and destroy drug factories, it can reduce the insurgents' ability to harm civilians and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan forces. "The illegal drug trade is a major threat to security, economic development and democratic government, so the more it's reduced the better it is for Afghanistan," the CO SOTG said in a statement released in Defense Department website on Friday.

In May this year, the SOTG commenced combined operations with the NIU. This combined effort has resulted in thousands of kilograms of drugs destroyed, and several individuals detained to face prosecution.

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