253 drug addicts reunite with families after recovery in Afghanistan

Kabul, Aug 11 (IANS) A total of 253 drug-addicted people were reunited with their families after receiving medical treatment and recovery in the western Afghanistan Herat province, the country's Ministry of Interior Affairs said Monday.

All former drug addicts from across Herat sent to rehabilitation centres months ago have now recovered and been reunited with their families, the ministry said in a statement posted on its X account, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Although there are no official statistics on the number of drug-addicted people in Afghanistan, more than three million drug addicted individuals are reported to exist in the country.

The Afghan interim government has banned the cultivation of poppy and the trafficking of narcotics as part of a broader initiative to eliminate drug abuse and its impact on society.

Earlier on August 2, the office of the Deputy Minister of Interior for Counter-Narcotics said that a total of 400 individuals who had been struggling with drug addiction have made a full recovery and rejoined their families in Herat province, western Afghanistan.

The recovered addicts, who were gathered from various districts of the province, underwent a three-month medical treatment and rehabilitation programme before reintegrating into their families.

Last week, Afghan police discovered 343 kg of illegal drugs during a series of operations in parts of Tirin Kot, the provincial capital of southern Afghanistan's Uruzgan province, provincial police spokesman Bilal Uruzgani said on August 8.

The drugs included opium poppy, heroin and methamphetamine, said the spokesman. The official said that the contraband, along with all documents found during the operations, had been handed over to the judiciary.

In a similar incident on August 3, another drug trafficker was arrested and 75 kg of opium poppy was seized in the northern Afghanistan Takhar province.

The alleged drug smuggler, according to the official, was attempting to sell the opium poppy, but police captured him red-handed and took him into custody for investigation.

--IANS

akl/as