DEPUTY MINISTRY OF COUNTER NARCOTICS
The Deputy Minister of Counter Narcotics (CN) is responsible for the eradication of poppy cultivation, the dismantling of illegal opium laboratories, and investigation of narcotics smuggling and trafficking.
Narcotics threatens both Afghanistan’s security and its economy. Poppy cultivation has direct links to terrorism, providing illegal income to fund insurgents. Heroin addiction afflicts many people in regional areas of poppy cultivation, harming both the health of the population, and the economic development of the province, as well as causing increases in violence and in street crime.
The main priorities of the Deputy Ministry of Counter Narcotics are:
- Implementation of the Action Plan in accordance with the Ministry’s 10-year Vision and the Law;
- Upgrading CNPA’s capacity, professionalism and training in Counter Narcotics work;
- Increasing the efficiency of operations across the country, and TOC leadership capacity building;
- Targeting main traffickers and drug trafficking organizations;
- Targeting main heroine/narcotics process centers and/or factories;
- Organizing major operations in order to eliminate armed drug traffickers in the border areas;
- Strengthening regional cooperation, information exchange, and joint cross-border operations with neighboring countries;
- Attempting total elimination of poppy cultivation across the country, recreating the Poppy Eradication Unit, and disrupting production in affected provinces; and,
- Strengthening borders, entry ports, customs units, airport security, placing professional police in the aforementioned locations in order to prevent drug trafficking.