Afghan Special Police Eliminate Six Heroin Factories, Kill Six Militants

Besides the drugs, some drug-making substances were also destroyed in an operation, including approximately one tonne of morphine and 15 tonnes of ammonium chloride.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) destroyed six heroin factories during an operation in the Helmand province, killing six militants, the Afghan Interior Ministry said Sunday.

"Last night, Afghan Counter-Narcotics Special Operation Police carried out a successful operation in Bando village, Nowzad district of southern Helmand province, destroying six heroin factories … During this operation, six armed militants were killed as well," the ministry’s statement read.

Besides the drugs, some drug-making substances were also destroyed in the operation, including approximately one tonne of morphine and 15 tonnes of ammonium chloride, the ministry added.

Afghanistan is home to the largest opium poppy production and distribution network in the world, supplying more than 90 percent of the world's crop.

Helmand is one of the main Afghanistan’s opium poppy cultivating provinces, representing 40 percent of the national total of opium production, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.