World's biggest hashish bust

By Libby

I don't know if that is true, but this is a lot of hashish.

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan counternarcotics officials said Wednesday that they uncovered 260 tons of hashish hidden in 6-foot-deep trenches in southern Afghanistan in what one DEA official said appears to be the world's biggest drug bust.

The hashish, found in the southern province of Kandahar on Monday, was worth more than $400 million and would have netted about $14 million in profits, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said.

It's being touted as a huge victory in the war on some drugs and a deadly blow against the terrorists. I seriously doubt that. Yes, it's an impressive bust, and it sounds like a lot of cash but at that level of dealing, it's an easily absorbable loss. The real money is in heroin.

This may dent the local Afghani hash market for a while but it's unlikely it seriously disrupted the drug trade in Afghanistan. In fact, I have to say I find the storage scheme odd. It feels like a setup to me. The government gets a glamourous bust of the least profitable product to prove it's seriously fighting the drug problem and drug lords get to keep the opium trade running. In reality, the government can't afford to shut down the heroin industry. It's the only thing keeping the country's economy alive.

Still, I'm glad to see that at least they busted at a high level instead of harassing the dirt poor farmers at the bottom of the chain.

Comments

[Steve Hynd]

Libby, 260 tons is hardly even a blip in the hashish supply. The world supply of hashish in 2004-05 was around 7,400 tons. Less than 4% then.

In any case, the largest proportion of the world's hashish (resin, not leaf) comes from Morrocco (31%) - it's Morrocco's largest export and biggest GDP contributor. It's followed by Pakistan (19%), then Afghanistan (18%), Lebanon (9%) and India (9%)

[Kat]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1025763/Afghan-police-seize-261-tons-Taliban-drugs-worth-1-6-billion.html>This article includes 'mind-boggling' photos of the trenches concealing a record 236 tons of hash and 2.5 tons of opium.

"Buried in vast trenches in the desert, it was found close to the Pakistan border.

"Members of the Special Boat Service had brought petrol to burn the drugs. But when they saw the extent of the haul, they called up the RAF to bomb it.

"Afghanistan's deputy Interior Minister, Lieutenant General Abdul Hadi Khalid, said yesterday: 'This is a new world record in the global war on drugs.' "

[fester]

I wonder who has the concession contract downwind of the burn as they'll be making a fortune :)

[Libby]

Hey C. I apparently forgot to proof the post. I was thinking of the local Afghani market, not the world market. I edited to make that clearer.

Kat, the photo was pretty impressive, wasn't it?

LOL Fester.

[pwapvt]

No wonder I can;t get any around here....

[Libby]

Maybe it's just because I'm out of the loop but in my experience, you rarely saw it in the Northeast anymore. Interestingly, they just busted a couple of guys at Raleigh Durham airport last week with a fairly significant amount, I forget how much exactly. It was concealed in wooden clothes hangers. It struck me as a kind of dumb way to move it on a plane. I mean who carries empty clothes hangers around when they're traveling? Dumb smugglers are probably another reason you don't see any.