Afghanistan burns 10 tonnes of drugs
Civil, army officials and ambassadors gathered on a mountainside outside Kabul to burn the drugs.
KABUL (AFP) - Afghan authorities Tuesday destroyed more than 10 tonnes of drugs and thousands of bottles of alcohol as part of their fight against narcotics amid a fresh surge in opium cultivation.
Government officials, ambassadors and military commanders gathered on a mountainside outside Kabul to burn the drugs which were seized from smugglers in recent months.
About 2,000 kilograms (4,400 pounds) of opium, 400 kg of heroine and about 1,200 kg of morphine were burned during the ceremony. More than 10,000 kg of hashish and thousands of bottles of beer and other alcohol were also destroyed.
Baz Mohammad Ahmadi, the deputy interior minister for counter-narcotic programmes, told a ceremony the drugs were seized over the past 10 months in and around Kabul.
"This event shows our increased capabilities fighting drugs," he said. Ahmadi said Kabul had become a key route for drug smugglers in recent years.
Afghanistan produces more than 90 percent of the world s opium, the key ingredient of heroin.
Mohammad Ibrahim Azhar, the deputy counter-narcotics minister, told the ceremony that opium cultivation had increased this year.
He refused to provide further details to reporters before the official launch of the upcoming 2013 drugs report.
