Trafficking of dangerous methamphetamine drug is skyrocketing in Afghanistan, UN report

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported Sunday that trafficking of the highly addictive methamphetamine synthetic drug has skyrocketed in Afghanistan and neighboring countries. In a press statement Sunday, UNODC said seizures of methamphetamine soared from 2.5 tons in 2017 to 29.7 tons in 2021.

According to the UNODC report, the Taliban introduced a ban on heroin after taking control of Afghanistan in 2021, which resulted in the intensified production and trade of methamphetamine. In its press statement, UNODC said methamphetamine of suspected Afghan origin has been seized in places as far away as Europe, the Near and Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Africa.

“South-West Asia was identified as having a transshipment role for methamphetamine to onward wholesale markets, while South-East Europe maintains an important transshipment role in the trafficking of heroin towards the main market in West and Central Europe,” the UNODC statement reads.

“The surge in methamphetamine trafficking in Afghanistan and the region suggests a significant shift in the illicit drug market and demands our immediate attention. Regional coordination targeting the diversion and smuggling of chemical precursors is essential to stopping the continued expansion of illicit methamphetamine manufacture in and around Afghanistan,” the statement asserts.

The annual UNODC Afghanistan opium cultivation survey will be published next month.

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