Drug Flow From Afghanistan to Central Asia Grew Under Taliban - Russian Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Following the Taliban's (under UN sanctions for terrorism) ascent in Afghanistan in August 2021, the flow of drugs to Central Asia increased significantly. The illicit opium trade made up an estimated 9 percent of Afghanistan's GDP in 2020.

Despite the intention of the Taliban movement (under UN sanctions for terrorism) to fight drug production in Afghanistan, since they came to power, the flow of drugs along the "northern route" to Central Asia has increased significantly, the director of the Department for New Challenges and Threats at the Russian Foreign Ministry, Vladimir Tarabrin, told Sputnik.

“Since coming to power in August 2021, the Taliban movement has declared its plans to fight drugs. On April 3, 2022, the new authorities announced a ban on the cultivation of opium poppy, as well as the production and trafficking of all types of drugs," Tarabrin said.

"However, it did not become an obstacle to poppy harvesting in the south of the country in the second half of April and its subsequent transportation. At the same time, a significant increase in drug trafficking along the "northern route" is registered," he said.