'Big Advance In War On Afghanistan Poppy', The Telegraph, 25 April 2008

EXCERPT: "Opium production in Afghanistan is expected to fall significantly this year, with British and Afghan anti-drug efforts finally taking hold following record harvests. Afghan officials said they expected that an increased number of the country's 34 provinces would be declared 'opium poppy free'. More than 90 per cent of the heroin consumed in Britain originates in Afghanistan. Production in Helmand - its biggest heroin province and the front-line for British soldiers - is also expected to fall alongside successes against a major drug lord and smugglers. General Khodaidad, Afghanistan's counter-narcotics minister, said: 'This year the overall cultivation of poppy is down. Around 20 provinces in total will be declared drug free.' He added that the provinces of Nangarhar and Badakhshan, which as recently as 2004 were behind only Helmand in production, would be poppy-free. Both are in the north and east of the country where government control is greater and the improvements have been the most significant."

To continue reading the article, click here.

See also:
'Mystery buyer of Afghan poppy resin thrives on drug trade', The Times Online, 23 April 2008
'', The Independent, 23 April 2008

Related posts:
'Afghan opium - The farmer's perspective', 9 April 2008
'Responding to Afghanistan's opium economy challenge - World Bank report', 12 March 2008
'Opium winter rapid assessment survey: UNODC', 6 February 2008