Written question asked by Marquess of Lothian (Conservative) on Wednesday, 1 February 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 7 February 2006. It was answered by Kim Howells (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 February 2006 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Afghanistan

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what quantity of drugs was seized in Afghanistan during 2005, broken down by type of narcotic.

Answer: We estimate that the Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan and the Afghan Special Narcotics Force have seized around 165 tonnes of opiates since November 2004. However, seizure figures since 2001 have been unreliable, due to difficulties in collating data centrally within Afghanistan. Additionally, forensic facilities are not yet widely available in Afghanistan and so Afghan police are often unable to accurately identify substances or record the quantities. We are unable, therefore, to provide a breakdown of types of narcotics seized.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 49282; 442 c1042W;442 c1042W
Session: 2005-06
Related items: Afghanistan
Monday, 27 February 2006
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects: Drugs Afghanistan Opium Drug seizures
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk