700kg opium haul seized in Afghanistan

More than 700 kilograms of dry opium has been seized by Afghan forces working alongside British troops in Helmand province.

The drugs were found hidden in the back of a flatbed truck that was stopped and searched at a vehicle checkpoint run by Afghan forces, who are being partnered by British troops, in the Garmsir district.

The find is the biggest made by British and Afghan forces in the area, and such a quantity of opium could have been used to produce heroin with a street value of more than £2m.

108kg of Opium seized in Panjwaii, Afghanistan

108kg Opium haul

PANJWAII DISTRICT, Afghanistan —  A frail Afghan man is brought before Capt. Patrick Chartrand, begging for the return of five bags full of drugs that weigh about twice as much as him.

"All the people are growing opium," the man, who appears to be in his 60s, says in Pashto.

"I am a poor man. What can I do?"

A group of Afghan National Army officers mentored by Canadians seized 108 kilograms of what's believed to be opium earlier this week. Military officials will test it later for verification.

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