Afghan Police have arrested a drug smuggler and confiscated pockets of opium poppy in north Afghanistan’s Samangan province, said a statement of the provincial police department on Thursday.

During routine checking of vehicles, police searched a car and discovered opium poppy packed in 10 pockets from a commuter attempting to take the contraband to Faryab province on Wednesday.

This was according to the statement on Thursday.

Without informing about the exact weight of the illicit drug, the statement added that police took the alleged drug smuggler in custody for investigation.

In similar operations, police arrested four people in the eastern Khost province and destroyed 46 acres of poppy farms in Wardak province a couple of days ago.

The Afghan caretaker administration in April last year banned the cultivation of illegal crops, including poppy, processing and drug trafficking. 

(Xinhua/NAN)