KABUL, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Twenty people have been arrested for alleged drug-related crimes in five Afghan provinces over the past week, authorities said on Wednesday.
"Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) together with Afghan security organs busted 15 drug cases and captured 20 people in Kabul, Kandahar, Jawzjan, Balkh and Nangarhar provinces over the past seven days," the Counter-Narcotics Criminal Justice Task Force of Afghanistan (CJTF) said in a statement.
Among the arrestees were two women and the security forces also confiscated local and foreign currencies from the arrested, totaling around 2,000 U.S. dollars, the statement added.
Among the drugs and materials found from the suspects were 4 kg of heroin, over 114 kg of opium, and 157 kg of hashish, the statement said, adding the CNPA also seized six vehicles, 18 mobile phones from the arrested.
In addition, appellant and primary courts of the Central Narcotics Tribunal of the CJTF have sentenced 16 drug suspects to different ranges imprisonment over the period, the statement said.
Much of the world's opium poppy is cultivated in the militancy-hit country.
In 2017, some 9,000 tons of opium were produced in Afghanistan, particularly in western and southern parts of the country, where the government security forces have little presence, according to official figures.