Drug lords in Afghanistan recruiting chemists
The United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs is reporting that Afghan drug lords are recruiting foreign chemists to assist in their drug production.
From the Financial Times:
Drug lords in Afghanistan, where poppy growing has soared in spite of the billions that western powers have spent in trying to stamp it out, have started to recruit [...]
Afghan Government protecting drug lords says former Bush Official
In a early release of the Sunday New York Times Magazine, former Bush Administration Official Thomas Schweich writes that the highest levels of the Afghan Government is allowing the drug trade to flourish.
From the BBC News article on the report:
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is obstructing efforts to tackle his country’s drugs problem, says a former [...]
Rebels increasing hold on drug land
Rebels in Afghanistan and Colombia are increasingly controlling land where illegal drugs are being grown, according to the United Nations.
From BBC News:
Afghanistan had a record opium harvest last year and coca leaf production in Colombia increased 27%, according to The World Drug Report 2008.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says most regions where [...]
Russia, China, and India seek to partner up to combat drugs
Russia, China, and India are seeking to partner up to combat drug trafficking from Afghanistan.
From Reuters:
China, India and Russia called on Thursday for the creation of a security belt around Afghanistan to halt the spread of heroin.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said a joint communique on boosting links between the three large developing countries would [...]
Opium Value in Afghanistan
According to the United States Department of State, the export value of Afghanistan’s 2006 opium export was $3.1 billion.
Source: 2007 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, “Southwest Asia: Afghanistan,” United States Department of State, March 2007.
90 percent of opiates smuggled into Russia from Afghanistan
Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “Illicit Drug Trends in the Russian Federation,” April 2008.
28.7 percent of opium farmers in Afghanistan cite poverty for growing
28.7 percent of opium farmers claimed poverty alleviation as the reason for growing opium in Afghanistan.
Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “Illicit Drug Trends in Afghanistan,” April 2008.
920,000 drug users in Afghanistan
4 percent of the population, or 920,000 people, are estimated drug users in Afghanistan.
Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “Illicit Drug Trends in Afghanistan,” April 2008.
34 percent average increase in poppy cultivation in Post-Taliban era
Opium poppy cultivation has increased on average by 34 percent every year since the Taliban was disposed of in 2001.
Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “Illicit Drug Trends in Afghanistan,” April 2008.
Afghanistan is also the world’s biggest supplier of cannabis
Source:“UNODC anticipates another large opium crop in Afghanistan in 2008,” UNODC, February 6, 2008.
