ANF seized narcotics worth $2.2 bn in six months

ISLAMABAD: Anti-Narcotics Force has seized 89 tons of narcotics worth over $2.2 billion being smuggled from Afghanistan to the global markets via Pakistan during the first six months of the current year, data collected by The News reveal.
There is no data of the amount/volume of narcotics that could not be intercepted, however, according to some estimates nearly 200 tons of heroin is smuggled through Pakistan each year, which in international market is worth over $20 billion. This gives an idea of the size of the parallel economy.
Well-placed sources in ANF also confirmed that the drugs seized are less than those which get transported to their destinations because of thousands of miles long borders and coastal line which cannot be 100 percent protected.
During the past six months, the ANF in 589 countrywide operations seized 19409.64 kilograms of Opium (19.4 tons); 6374.687 kilograms of heroin; 62258.44 kg of hashish; 543 kg of morphine and 3.652 kg of cocaine. Some 738 handlers/transporters/carriers were apprehended since January 2015. Most of the consignments were intercepted in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The ANF sources said that opium is locally sold at Rs45,576/kg while in the international market it is worth $13,500/kg and at some places the rate is as high as $30,000/kg. Similarly heroin’s value starts from $64,230/kg as recorded by international agencies while it goes up to around $100000-150000/kg in some markets. Hashish is available in global drugs market at $24,700/kg minimum while cocaine sells at $50,125/kg in international drug markets.
The sources disclosed that most of the drugs that come into Pakistan are from Helmand province of Afghanistan. Pakistan is used as a transit from where the drug dons transport narcotics to the Middle East, China, Australia, Americas, Africa and Europe. The sources said that in most of the cases, drugs in huge quantity are brought from Afghanistan and are dumped in Balochistan from where these are transported to the global markets in bits and parts. The major routes used are the sea routes via yachts and via Iran to Turkey and Europe.
According to the ANF data, only in the month of June 2015, the seized drugs’ value crossed Rs100 billion as two major consignments were intercepted on June 20 and June 28. In both cases the huge consignments were dumped in the hills of Baluchistan’s far-flung areas devoid of inhabitants. “On June 28 ANF carried out 6 operations in different parts of the country and seized huge cache of narcotics.
The value of the seized drugs is approximately Rs42.2 billion in international market. Heroin was stuffed in large number of plastic sacks, which were hidden at a deserted site situated in the mountainous terrain far away from populated area. As per initial reports, drug consignment was dispatched by a narcotics smuggler Haji Mehmood Ail Zai, based at Helmand, Afghanistan and was received by Haji Wali Muhammad Baloch, a notorious drug dealer based at Brabcha, Balochistan.
Earlier, on June 20 the ANF launched 7 operations in different parts of the country and recovered huge cache of narcotics worth Rs26 billion in international market. The sources in ANF say that while many carriers are arrested at airports those using land routes in the far-flung deserted areas manage to flee undetected.