Opium Cultivation Rises 60%, U.N. Official Says

The U.N. anti-drug chief announced a “staggering” 60% rise increase in opium cultivation in Afghanistan this year, and demanded that the government arrest scores of major traffickers and remove corrupt officials and police who are profiting from the trade.

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

“The news is very bad. On the opium front today in some of the provinces of Afghanistan, we face a state of emergency,” said Antonio Maria Costa after presenting crop survey results to Afghan President Hamid Karzai. “In the southern provinces, the situation is out of control.”