UN Says Corruption Compromising Afghan Drug Effort

November 29, 2006 -- A new report says Afghanistan's criminal groups have compromised government officials who protect drug traffickers, allowing the country's drug trade to flourish.

The joint report issued on November 28 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Bank places heavy blame on Afghanistan's Interior Ministry. Afghan officials are denying high-level corruption in the ministry.

A visual look at Afghanistan's progress and challenges over the last five years.

The report, called "Afghanistan's Drug Industry," is a comprehensive assessment of the country's drug production, from poppy growing to the international drug trade.

The Associated Press quotes Zalmai Afzali, a spokesman for the Afghan antinarcotics ministry, as today saying that there is no evidence that high-ranking officials are involved in the country's drug trade.

(AP)

Opium In Afghanistan

An antidrug billboard in Kabul shows a skeleton hanging from an opium bulb (AFP)

OPIUM FARMING ON THE RISE Despite a nationwide program by the Afghan government to eradicate opium-poppy fields and offer farmers alternative crops, international experts say that the 2006 opium crop will be as much as 40 percent larger than the previous year's. Afghanistan is the largest producer of opium in the world, and the source of as much as 90 percent of Europe's heroin.(more)

Narcotics Supply Reduced, But Afghanistan Still Suffering

Saffron Could Help Wean Farmers Off Opium Poppies

Poppy-Eradication Drive Launched In Western Province

Insurgency Gains Ground As Poppy-Eradication Efforts Struggle

UN Drug Agency Promotes 'Alternative Development' For Curbing Poppy Cultivation

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