9 Tons of Marijuana Seized

**MikeD** · 10-25-2006, 11:15 AM

120 pounds of opium, too.

NATO and the Afghans found it. Damn, that's alot of weed...

KABUL, Afghanistan - NATO-led troops killed 38 suspected insurgents in two separate confrontations in southern Afghanistan, and Western troops and Afghan police elsewhere seized more than 9 tons of marijuana from a truck, officials said Wednesday.

The fighting in Kandahar’s Zhari and Panjwayi districts on Tuesday targeted militants that were attacking the alliance’s “development efforts” in the area, said Maj. Luke Knittig, the spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force.

NATO forces launched a major military operation in the Panjwayi area in September. The alliance said it killed more than 500 suspected militants during that offensive.

NATO-led troops and Afghan police, meanwhile, seized the tons of marijuana from a truck that was stopped in southern Afghanistan on a road linking the southern city of Kandahar with Kabul, the alliance said. Four people in the truck were detained.

In the country’s west, U.S. and Afghan troops recovered more than 120 pounds of opium from a car in Farah province, another NATO statement said Tuesday.

The U.S. soldiers were supporting an Afghan National Army checkpoint when a car failed to stop, the statement said. An Afghan soldier noticed a suspicious bag where the spare tire was supposed to be and alerted the next checkpoint. A search of the vehicle netted the opium. The car’s driver and passenger were detained.

Record opium production
Afghanistan’s world-leading opium cultivation rose 59 percent this year, according to U.N. figures released last month.

The record crop yielded 6,100 tons of opium, or enough to make 610 tons of heroin — outstripping the demand of the world’s heroin users by a third, according to U.N. figures.

According to the U.N.’s Office on Drugs and Crime, some 2.9 million people were involved in growing opium, representing 12.5 percent of the total Afghan population, and that revenue from this year’s harvest was predicted to hit over $3 billion.

Opium cultivation has surged since the ouster of the Taliban in late 2001. The former regime had enforced an effective ban on poppy growing by threatening to jail farmers — virtually eradicating the crop in 2000.

But Afghan and Western counter-narcotics officials say Taliban-led militants are now implicated in the drug trade, encouraging poppy cultivation and using the proceeds to help fund their insurgency.

The U.N. anti-drug chief also urged the government to crack down on big traffickers and remove corrupt officials and police officers fueling the trade.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15410169/

*Most emphasis in article mine*

**ryan_self** · 10-25-2006, 12:02 PM

"Looks around*

Umm...I'll be right back. Gotta check on something.

**MikeD** · 10-25-2006, 12:29 PM

Heh, translate that percentage to the States and we would have 37,500,000 people working in the opium industry.

**zippyjuan** · 10-25-2006, 02:06 PM

Things haven't really changed much in Afghanistan. Back where they were ten years ago with the government controlling only areas around the capital and tribal druglords ruling the rest of the country.

**Houdini** · 10-25-2006, 04:32 PM

Originally Posted by MikeD

120 pounds of opium, too.

NATO and the Afghans found it. Damn, that's alot of weed...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15410169/

*Most emphasis in article mine*

I love the fact that the Taliban outlawed opium production as a religious crime until they realized they could make money to support insurgents, themselves, terrorists etc., by selling it.

**bachviet** · 10-25-2006, 04:36 PM

Now hopefully all the NATO troops are not going to get high!

**ShawnLee** · 10-25-2006, 11:05 PM

And people think that they were lied to when told that drug money supports terrorism. Oh well.

(Obligatory acknowledgment for whichever enviro-liberal will say it: Yes, driving my car also supports terrorism, but I have to use oil, I've yet to get high.)

**verve247** · 10-25-2006, 11:19 PM

Then support democracies everywhere by making sure your weed is homegrown.

**ialsohaveadream** · 10-26-2006, 07:39 AM

Somewhere, Nate Newton is wondering what's taking his order so long to be delivered.

**cheapie** · 10-26-2006, 07:46 AM

too funny!

**MikeD** · 10-26-2006, 08:13 AM

Yeah, that was a good one. Wasn't Nate caught with a tick more than that down in LA once?

**irwin** · 10-26-2006, 01:06 PM

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americ...eut/index.html

Canada troops battle 10-foot Afghan marijuana plants

OTTAWA, Canada (Reuters) -- Canadian troops fighting Taliban militants in Afghanistan have stumbled across an unexpected and potent enemy -- almost impenetrable forests of marijuana plants 10 feet tall.

General Rick Hillier, chief of the Canadian defense staff, said Thursday that Taliban fighters were using the forests as cover. In response, the crew of at least one armored car had camouflaged their vehicle with marijuana.

"The challenge is that marijuana plants absorb energy, heat very readily. It's very difficult to penetrate with thermal devices. ... And as a result you really have to be careful that the Taliban don't dodge in and out of those marijuana forests," he said in a speech in Ottawa, Canada.

"We tried burning them with white phosphorous -- it didn't work. We tried burning them with diesel -- it didn't work. The plants are so full of water right now ... that we simply couldn't burn them," he said.

Even successful incineration had its drawbacks.

"A couple of brown plants on the edges of some of those [forests] did catch on fire. But a section of soldiers that was downwind from that had some ill effects and decided that was probably not the right course of action," Hiller said dryly.

One soldier told him later: "Sir, three years ago before I joined the army, I never thought I'd say 'That damn marijuana'."

Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AR2006-P007 0012

15 Sept 2006

Kandahar, Afghanistan

Surrounded by marijuana fields, two Light Armored Vehicles (LAV's) and the NAYLAH (center), provide perimeter security for Canadian soldiers patrolling in and around the village of Kolk in the Panjwaii District, approximately 30 kilometers west of Kandahar City as part of Operation MEDUSA.

Op MEDUSA was conducted with an aim to clear insurgent forces from the Panjwaii District. TF 3-06 BG was the main manoeuvre unit in Op MEDUSA, which also had significant participation from US, Dutch and UK air and ground forces, as well as the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police. Op MEDUSA commenced on 2 September 2006.

Task Force Afghanistan is part of Canada's contribution to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. This mission is about Canadians and their international partners helping Afghans rebuild their lives, their families, their communities and their nation. Canadian operations will work to improve the quality of life of Afghans by providing a secure environment in which Afghan society can recover from more than 25 years of conflict.

The Canadian Forces (CF) contribution in Afghanistan comprises about 2,000 soldiers, most of whom serve with Task Force Afghanistan at Kandahar Airfield and Camp Nathan Smith in Kandahar City. Additional personnel are assigned to Kabul, various military headquarters, and civilian organizations.

Overlooking a field of eight foot tall Marijuana plants, two Canadian soldiers from Alpha Company (A Coy) occupy a temporary Observation Post (OP) watching for any sign of attack from Taliban Insurgents. Their efforts focused on securing the area and making it safe for the return of persons displaced during recent fighting in the area. The threat of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDS), Mortars and small arms fires are a genuine concern.

A Coy is from 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2PPCLI) based out of CFB Shilo, MB, and is part of the Task Force 3-06 Battle Group (TF 3-06 BG), which is centred around 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment based out of CFB Petawawa, ON.