Surge In Drug Trafficking From Afghanistan Not Expected - Russia's Special Envoy

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th July, 2021) A surge in drug traffic coming from Afghanistan to other countries is unlikely, as the drug trade there remains stable, Russia's Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said on Thursday.

"I don't think there will be such a surge for the reason that the level of drug traffic coming from Afghanistan is stable," Kabulov stated at a briefing.

According to the envoy, the black market for drugs is controlled by international criminal groups which are not interested in an uncontrolled influx of substances.

Drug production in Afghanistan has increased 40 times during the international troops presence there, as Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev estimated. The issue of drug trafficking from Afghanistan remains acute, which the delegation of the Taliban (outlawed in Russia as a terrorist group) promised to tackle while on their visit to Moscow in early July.