Just 20% of heroin trafficked from Afghanistan is seized

JUST 20% of the heroin being trafficked out of Afghanistan to the rest of the world, including Europe, is being seized, according to a new analysis of the situation.

The UN report said Afghanistan had a monopoly on opium production, accounting for 92% of the total output across the globe.

It said while the Asian state was sending out 375 tonnes of heroin every year, it was holding back vast quantities.

The report, by the UN Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said there was a massive glut of heroin ready to be pumped out.

“Major overproduction during the 2006-2009 period can be estimated at over 12,000 tons of opium, enough to satisfy more than two years of world consumption,” said the report.

Experts in Europe and Ireland have feared the heroin mountain will lead to a greater supply of heroin into the continent. This could include an increase in the purity of the drug, posing an increased risk of overdoses.

Police agencies in the Netherlands — the main distribution centre for heroin in western Europe — have noticed a massive rise in the size of consignments of heroin being trafficked into the country from Afghanistan via Turkey.

The UNODC said there were over 11 million heroin users across the world, with close to half of them in Europe. This includes Russia, which accounts for half of Europe’s users.

The report — Addiction, Crime and Insurgency, the transnational threat of Afghan opium — said only around a fifth of heroin being trafficked is seized (90 tonnes) and that only 2% of that is in Afghanistan.

“The root of the problem lies in Afghanistan where corruption, lawlessness and uncontrolled borders result in an insignificant 2% interception rate of the opiates produced,” said the report.

The bulk of seizures are taking place in the neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Iran. It said richer countries, who “can afford better law enforcement”, seize smaller amounts.

This includes European Union member states Bulgaria, Greece and Romania, which seize less than 2% of their heroin trade.

The report said there was a “significant increase” in the drug money being made by the Taliban today, in comparison with the 1990s, when the Islamic fundamentalists were in power.

The report said more people die from Afghan opium than any other drug in the world. The figure is believed to be in the region of 100,000 globally.