Afghan raid nets drugs worth millions

30th September 2011 sandrea World/Local News 0

DIGGERS in Afghanistan have helped to find and destroy a huge haul of narcotics, the Department of Defence says.

Included in the bust inside the restive Helmand province was what Defence described as “a large quantity of narcotic manufacturing equipment and chemicals”.

Defence estimated the worth of the haul at $US350 million ($A359.21 million).

Afghan National Security Forces led the operation and were helped by Australia’s Special Operations Group Taskforce.

The raid is part of broader operations which reportedly have hit the budget of enemy combatants.

“This is one of the biggest narcotics busts by Afghan National Security Forces, comprising the National Interdiction Unit and the Air Interdiction Unit, and Australian Special Operations Task Group to date,” an anonymous lieutenant-colonel said in a statement.

“In Afghan terms, the combined hauls will remove around $US21 million from directly funding the insurgency.

“The destruction of such a large quantity of drug products will have a considerable effect on the insurgent operations in northern Helmand and west Uruzgan throughout the remainder of 2011 and into 2012.”