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November 22, 2008 8:58:56 AM CST

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Afghan Cops Blow Up Huge Hashish Stash

Posted Jun 12, 08 8:59 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – Afghanistan police have made what is believed to be the biggest narcotics bust in history, the Guardian reports. Some 260 tons of hashish—worth $400 million—was found buried in trenches near the Pakistan border. The narcotics haul, which would have made as much as $14 million in profits for the Taliban, was so massive that an airstrike had to be called in to destroy the drugs.

"With this single find, they have seriously crippled the Taliban's ability to purchase weapons that threaten the safety and security of the Afghan people and the region," said NATO's top general in Afghanistan.

Sources Guardian (UK), Reuters

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This photo released by rhe Afghan Interior ministry shows sacks of hashish a found them hidden in the southern province of Kandahar south of Kabul, Afghanistan.   (AP Photo/Afghan Interior Ministry, HO)
This photo released by Afghan Interior ministry showsseized sacks of hashish on fire after the Afghan National Police found them in a hidden stock in the southern province of Kandahar   (AP Photo/HO)
This photo released by the Afghan Interior ministry shows marked sacks of hashish found them in a hidden stock in the southern province of Kandahar south of Kabul, Afghanistan.   (AP Photo/Afghan Interior Ministry, HO)
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Afghanistan • Taliban • drugs • drug trafficking • Kandahar • cannabis • counternarcotics


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