Afghanistan is ready for cooperation to prevent production and trafficking of illegal drugs since the country suffers from the given evil, Afghan Drug Control Minister Zaror Ahmad Mukimi Usmoni said today in Dushanbe following a trilateral meeting of heads of drug control agencies of Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

He said Afghanistan produces 6.700 tons of opium which is used to produce 337 tons of heroin. Usmoni added that at least 5% of this volume consumed in Afghanistan, the remaining volume goes for export. He stressed that drug traffickers use illegal ways to import 1.300 tons of precursor chemicals to Afghanistan to produce heroin.

He said income from sales of drugs makes $67bln, Afghan drug dealers get $1.2bln of the given amount.

Top Afghan drug control official said that one third of the total volume of heroin produced in Afghanistan is exported through the northern route – through Central Asian republics, the remaining volume is trafficked through Iran. “Figures show low level of drug seizure in Central Asia,” he said. “There are approximately 10.000 drug users in the region who use Afghan drugs. Prices for Afghan drugs raised as drug production areas in Afghanistan reduced.”

Usmoni stressed that 40 Afghan law enforcement officers were killed, another 92 injured in the course of special operations in Afghanistan.

He said countries of the region should continue their counter-drug production and trafficking efforts and added that “joint efforts are needed to combat this evil.”